Morgan Stanley Cuts Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Price Target to $70.00
by Scott Moore · The Cerbat GemBrown & Brown (NYSE:BRO – Free Report) had its price objective lowered by Morgan Stanley from $76.00 to $70.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.
Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on BRO. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $94.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Argus upgraded shares of Brown & Brown to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $76.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Brown & Brown from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $73.00 in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.27.
Get Our Latest Analysis on Brown & Brown
Brown & Brown Price Performance
Shares of BRO opened at $67.85 on Monday. Brown & Brown has a fifty-two week low of $63.29 and a fifty-two week high of $121.70. The company has a market capitalization of $23.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.66.
Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 17.84% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 35.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current year.
Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 4th were issued a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 4th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Brown & Brown’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.63%.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BRO. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Brown & Brown by 81.1% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 17,479,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,639,392,000 after buying an additional 7,827,992 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter valued at about $516,837,000. Capital International Investors purchased a new position in Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter valued at about $371,654,000. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. increased its holdings in Brown & Brown by 132.8% in the fourth quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 4,538,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $361,725,000 after buying an additional 2,589,048 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Brown & Brown by 13.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 15,416,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,445,888,000 after buying an additional 1,821,229 shares in the last quarter. 71.01% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Brown & Brown Company Profile
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.