Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Raised to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Brown & Brown from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $104.00 to $101.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Bank of America raised Brown & Brown from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $126.00 to $130.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Brown & Brown from $122.00 to $106.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective (down from $125.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 target price for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.64.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

Shares of BRO opened at $91.79 on Friday. 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.61. Brown & Brown has a 1-year low of $89.99 and a 1-year high of $125.68. The company has a market cap of $30.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.45, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.81.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 15.10%. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.93 EPS. Brown & Brown’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Brown & Brown will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Brown & Brown news, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $91.44 per share, for a total transaction of $91,440.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $457,200. This trade represents a 25.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Paul J. Krump purchased 2,678 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $93.31 per share, with a total value of $249,884.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 5,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $499,488.43. This represents a 100.11% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 17.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brown & Brown

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BRO. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in Brown & Brown in the 2nd quarter valued at $49,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Brown & Brown by 2.7% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 65,588 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,295,000 after purchasing an additional 1,708 shares in the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lifted its position in Brown & Brown by 23.8% during the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 12,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,388,000 after purchasing an additional 2,409 shares during the period. Cim LLC grew its stake in Brown & Brown by 6.8% during the second quarter. Cim LLC now owns 27,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,018,000 after buying an additional 1,730 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new position in Brown & Brown in the 2nd quarter valued at about $325,000. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Company Profile

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.