Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Price Target Cut to $78.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) had its target price reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $81.00 to $78.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 12.99% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Brown & Brown from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut Brown & Brown from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $55.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Friday. Mizuho raised their target price on Brown & Brown from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.62.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

Brown & Brown stock traded up $1.37 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $69.03. 421,934 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,253,643. Brown & Brown has a one year low of $53.81 and a one year high of $108.23. The company has a market cap of $23.40 billion, a PE ratio of 22.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $60.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.89 billion. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 17.94% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The company’s revenue was up 35.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.29 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Brown & Brown will post 4.51 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brown & Brown

In related news, Director H Palmer Proctor, Jr. purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $57.10 per share, with a total value of $114,200.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 47,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,719,159.10. The trade was a 4.38% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 13.13% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BRO. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter worth about $516,837,000. Capital International Investors acquired a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter worth $371,654,000. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. increased its position in Brown & Brown by 132.8% during the fourth quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 4,538,584 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $361,725,000 after acquiring an additional 2,589,048 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in Brown & Brown by 53.0% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,929,461 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $313,178,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361,934 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 1,679.0% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,204,318 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $112,953,000 after purchasing an additional 1,136,623 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.