Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Cut to Equal Weight at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Brown & Brown's stock rating has been downgraded by Wells Fargo & Company from "overweight" to "equal weight," with a new price target of $101.00, down from $104.00.
• Several analysts have varied ratings on the stock, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $112.93.
• The company reported $1.03 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations and showing a 9.1% increase in year-over-year revenue.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wells Fargo & Company from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $101.00 target price on the financial services provider's stock, down from their previous target price of $104.00. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective points to a potential upside of 5.20% from the company's current price.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Brown & Brown from $122.00 to $106.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock 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 target price (down from $125.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Barclays dropped their target price on Brown & Brown from $111.00 to $108.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Brown & Brown from $104.00 to $87.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Brown & Brown presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $112.93.

Brown & Brown Stock Up 1.3%

NYSE:BRO opened at $96.01 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.67, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.78. Brown & Brown has a 1-year low of $90.38 and a 1-year 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 business's fifty day moving average price is $103.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.54.

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

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brown & Brown

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BRO. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG bought a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter worth about $907,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 20,811 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,123,000 after purchasing an additional 1,986 shares during the period. Mariner LLC increased its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 60,382 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,160,000 after purchasing an additional 3,361 shares during the period. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter worth about $348,000. Finally, Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super bought a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter worth about $1,189,000. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Brown & Brown

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.