Morgan Stanley Lowers Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Price Target to $109.00

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has lowered its price target for Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) from $120.00 to $109.00, while maintaining an "equal weight" rating on the stock.
• The stock has a current market cap of $30.86 billion and showed a price increase of $1.04 to reach $93.55 recently, but remains below the new price target.
• Analysts have mixed views on the stock, with one sell rating, seven holds, and seven buy ratings, leading to an average target price of $113.23.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $109.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's target price suggests a potential upside of 16.51% from the company's current price.

BRO has been the subject of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Brown & Brown from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $126.00 to $119.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $127.00 to $104.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Brown & Brown from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $126.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $113.23.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BRO traded up $1.04 on Friday, reaching $93.55. 1,393,012 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,559,613. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.97, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.78. Brown & Brown has a fifty-two week low of $90.38 and a fifty-two week high of $125.68. The business's 50-day moving average is $105.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.83. The company has a quick ratio of 6.72, a current ratio of 6.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $1.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.93 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Brown & Brown will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Brown & Brown

In other Brown & Brown news, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada acquired 1,000 shares of Brown & Brown stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $91.44 per share, for a total transaction of $91,440.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $457,200. This trade represents a 25.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 17.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parnassus Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 1st quarter worth about $899,139,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 626.6% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,350,039 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $239,751,000 after purchasing an additional 2,026,589 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown during the 2nd quarter worth about $171,163,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 13,974.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,112,758 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $138,427,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104,852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 16.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,369,576 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $813,624,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050,350 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.