Morgan Stanley Lowers Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Price Target to $105.00

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has lowered its price target for Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) from $109.00 to $105.00, maintaining an "equal weight" rating for the stock, which indicates a potential upside of 10.12% from its current price.
• Other analysts have also adjusted their ratings, with Goldman Sachs downgrading the stock from "buy" to "neutral," and Barclays adjusting their target from $111.00 to $108.00 while keeping an "equal weight" rating.
• Despite the revisions, Brown & Brown reported a strong quarterly performance, exceeding EPS estimates with $1.03 earnings per share, and a revenue increase of 9.1% year-over-year.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) had its price target decreased by Morgan Stanley from $109.00 to $105.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider's stock.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $111.00 to $108.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $122.00 to $106.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Argus reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $120.00 price objective (down previously from $125.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Brown & Brown from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $104.00 to $101.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Brown & Brown has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $112.64.

Brown & Brown Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Brown & Brown stock traded up $0.2060 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $96.6060. 1,593,830 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,574,347. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.78. Brown & Brown has a twelve month low of $90.38 and a twelve month high of $125.68. The company has a current ratio of 6.72, a quick ratio of 6.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $102.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.14.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 15.10%. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. The company's revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Brown & Brown will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 13th. Brown & Brown's payout ratio is currently 17.29%.

Insider Transactions at Brown & Brown

In other Brown & Brown news, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada purchased 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $91.44 per share, for a total transaction of $91,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,000 shares in the company, valued at $457,200. The trade was a 25.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul J. Krump purchased 2,678 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $93.31 per share, for a total transaction of $249,884.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,353 shares of the company's stock, valued at $499,488.43. This represents a 100.11% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 17.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brown & Brown

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BRO. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG acquired a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter valued at about $907,000. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,275 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 18,125 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,849,000 after buying an additional 2,043 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 977.3% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 43,492 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,437,000 after buying an additional 39,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 181,287 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $18,482,000 after buying an additional 8,317 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Brown & Brown Company Profile

Brown & Brown, Inc is an insurance agency, wholesale brokerage, insurance program and service organization. It engages in the provision of insurance brokerage services and casualty insurance underwriting services. It operates through the following segments: Retail, National Programs, Wholesale Brokerage, and Services.