Wells Fargo & Company Lowers Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Price Target to $92.00

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) had its price target reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $98.00 to $92.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target points to a potential upside of 14.34% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on BRO. UBS Group cut their price objective on Brown & Brown from $120.00 to $106.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America upgraded shares of Brown & Brown from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $126.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $108.00 to $102.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $120.00 price target (down from $125.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $108.38.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

Brown & Brown stock opened at $80.46 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $92.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.88. The company has a market capitalization of $27.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.79. Brown & Brown has a 1 year low of $79.68 and a 1 year high of $125.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 6.72 and a current ratio of 2.10.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 18.23% and a return on equity of 13.64%. The business’s revenue was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Brown & Brown will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brown & Brown

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bares Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Brown & Brown in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Optimum Investment Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. SouthState Corp increased its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 188.6% in the 1st quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake in Brown & Brown by 298.5% in the second quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Brown & Brown in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other 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.