StockNews.com Downgrades Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) to Hold

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Wednesday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Brown & Brown from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Brown & Brown from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Bank of America cut shares of Brown & Brown from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $86.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $87.30.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

Brown & Brown stock traded down $0.43 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $84.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 934,508 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,335,892. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.19 billion, a PE ratio of 26.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.79. Brown & Brown has a fifty-two week low of $61.71 and a fifty-two week high of $87.99. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $84.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 1.97.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.07. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 21.09% and a return on equity of 16.43%. The firm had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.84 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Brown & Brown will post 3.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brown & Brown

In other news, Chairman Hyatt J. Brown sold 144,323 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.96, for a total transaction of $12,406,005.08. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 37,460,605 shares in the company, valued at $3,220,113,605.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 16.43% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in Brown & Brown by 0.5% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 25,633 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,243,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC now owns 6,316 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $449,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 16,677 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,186,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 22.8% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,008 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial LLC grew its position in Brown & Brown by 6.0% during the third quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 3,395 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. 71.01% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Brown & Brown

Brown & Brown, Inc markets and sells insurance products and services in the United States, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Retail, National Programs, Wholesale Brokerage, and Services. The Retail segment provides property and casualty, employee benefits insurance products, personal insurance products, specialties insurance products, risk management strategies, loss control survey and analysis, consultancy, and claims processing services.

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