Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Price Target Lowered to $85.00 at Morgan Stanley

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) had its price target trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $85.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on BRO. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $98.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $97.00 price target (down previously from $135.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Monday, November 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Brown & Brown from $122.00 to $106.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Brown & Brown from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Brown & Brown currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.08.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

NYSE BRO opened at $80.65 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $27.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.15, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 6.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Brown & Brown has a 12-month low of $76.17 and a 12-month high of $125.68.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $1.55 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Brown & Brown will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th were given a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 5th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Brown & Brown’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Brown & Brown’s payout ratio is currently 19.76%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brown & Brown

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its position in Brown & Brown by 4.2% during the first quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 2,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,508 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $278,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 2,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $273,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Brown & Brown by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,902 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. 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.