UBS Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Stock Price

Key Points

• UBS Group cut its price target on Brown & Brown from $81 to $65 while keeping a neutral rating, implying limited upside from the prior close.
• Despite the downgrade, Brown & Brown shares rose 2.3% to $59.31 on Tuesday. The stock remains below both its 50-day moving average of $61.49 and 200-day moving average of $70.34.
• The company recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.39 versus $1.36 expected and revenue of $1.90 billion, up 35.4% year over year.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by stock analysts at UBS Group from $81.00 to $65.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the financial services provider's stock. UBS Group's target price would indicate a potential upside of 9.59% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Citizens Jmp assumed coverage on Brown & Brown in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. They set a "market outperform" rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $82.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $78.44.

Brown & Brown Stock Up 2.3%

NYSE BRO traded up $1.31 on Tuesday, reaching $59.31. The company had a trading volume of 518,736 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,319,016. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.63. 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 has a 1-year low of $53.81 and a 1-year high of $111.10. The company's fifty day moving average is $61.49 and its 200-day moving average is $70.34.

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

Insider Transactions at Brown & Brown

In other Brown & Brown news, Director H Palmer Proctor, Jr. acquired 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $57.10 per share, with a total value of $114,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 47,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,719,159.10. This represents a 4.38% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 13.13% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Brown & Brown

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Brown & Brown by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,634,847 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,999,497,000 after acquiring an additional 303,955 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Brown & Brown by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,886,395 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,425,546,000 after purchasing an additional 407,006 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 1.6% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,608,720 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,017,847,000 after purchasing an additional 246,172 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,403,814 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,068,284,000 after purchasing an additional 282,988 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Brown & Brown by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,952,957 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $631,495,000 after purchasing an additional 118,225 shares in the last quarter. 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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