Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Given New $88.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Key Points

• Bank of America cut its price target on Brown & Brown to $88 (from $90) and kept a "neutral" rating, a target the firm says implies about a 32.1% upside from the prior close.
• The broader analyst picture is cautious: the consensus rating is "Hold" with a mean target of $84.27, and several firms (Wells Fargo, BMO, JPMorgan) have recently lowered targets.
• Shares traded down ~1.3% to $66.61 on the day; Brown & Brown has a $22.68B market cap, a 20.8 PE, and recently reported a slight EPS beat ($0.93 vs. $0.91) with revenue up 35.7% year‑over‑year.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by equities researchers at Bank of America from $90.00 to $88.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Bank of America's price target indicates a potential upside of 32.11% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Brown & Brown from $78.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Brown & Brown in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $76.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Brown & Brown from $88.00 to $81.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Brown & Brown from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $84.27.

Brown & Brown Stock Down 1.3%

BRO stock traded down $0.85 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $66.61. 581,885 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,365,843. The company has a market capitalization of $22.68 billion, a PE ratio of 20.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Brown & Brown has a twelve month low of $63.29 and a twelve month high of $121.59. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.50.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 17.84% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.86 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 35.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Brown & Brown will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Brown & Brown

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,420,814 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $133,258,000 after acquiring an additional 51,959 shares during the period. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 69.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,385,214 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $129,919,000 after purchasing an additional 569,037 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,330,892 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,501,264,000 after purchasing an additional 1,705,570 shares in the last quarter. Triad Investment Management acquired a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter worth about $4,314,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 43.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 48,600 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,558,000 after purchasing an additional 14,678 shares in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Brown & Brown

Brown & Brown, Inc NYSE: BRO is a professional insurance brokerage and risk advisory firm that provides a broad range of property and casualty, employee benefits, personal risk, and specialty insurance products. The company works with commercial, public sector and individual clients to design and place insurance programs, manage claims and loss control, and deliver risk management consulting. Its services also include wholesale brokerage, program administration and other specialty distribution solutions that connect carriers and intermediaries to niche markets.

Brown & Brown operates through a decentralized model of operating units and subsidiaries, enabling local client service with the scale to access national and specialty markets.

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