JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Stock Price

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase cut its price target on Brown & Brown from $81 to $78 and kept a neutral rating, implying about 13% upside from the prior close.
• Other analysts were mixed: Citizens JMP and Mizuho raised targets and stayed bullish, while RBC and Wells Fargo lowered targets. Overall, Brown & Brown still carries an average Hold rating with a consensus target of $78.62.
• The stock rose to $69.03 on Monday, and the company recently beat quarterly earnings expectations with $1.39 EPS versus $1.36 expected, on revenue of $1.90 billion.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $81.00 to $78.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the financial services provider's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price objective indicates a potential upside of 12.99% from the company's previous close.

BRO has been the subject of several other reports. Citizens Jmp upped their price objective on Brown & Brown from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Brown & Brown from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $73.00 target price (up from $65.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $69.00 to $68.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Brown & Brown presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $78.62.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

Shares of BRO stock traded up $1.37 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $69.03. The company had a trading volume of 421,934 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,253,643. Brown & Brown has a 12-month low of $53.81 and a 12-month high of $108.23. The company has a market capitalization of $23.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.21, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $60.05 and a 200-day moving average of $67.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.89 billion. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 17.94% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.29 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown will post 4.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brown & Brown

In other Brown & Brown news, Director H Palmer Proctor, Jr. acquired 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $57.10 per share, with a total value of $114,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 47,621 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,719,159.10. The trade was a 4.38% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 13.13% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brown & Brown

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Tema ETFs LLC boosted its stake in Brown & Brown by 47.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 6,354 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $408,000 after buying an additional 2,052 shares during the last quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 100.0% during the second quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC now owns 1,084 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 5.8% during the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 89,134 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,718,000 after purchasing an additional 4,900 shares during the period. Allied Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Brown & Brown during the second quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the second quarter valued at $201,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

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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