Brown & Brown’s (BRO) “Equal Weight” Rating Reaffirmed at Morgan Stanley

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating restated by analysts at Morgan Stanley in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $128.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price indicates a potential upside of 5.77% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Brown & Brown from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brown & Brown has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.67.

Brown & Brown Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE:BRO opened at $121.02 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $111.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $107.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a current ratio of 1.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.98, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.86. Brown & Brown has a 1 year low of $80.33 and a 1 year high of $121.30.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.10. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 17.81% and a net margin of 20.68%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Brown & Brown will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brown & Brown

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Brown & Brown by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 275,479 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,540,000 after buying an additional 4,322 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Brown & Brown by 53.3% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 54,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,620,000 after acquiring an additional 18,869 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in Brown & Brown by 11.8% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 29,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,045,000 after acquiring an additional 3,101 shares during the last quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the 3rd quarter worth about $218,000. Finally, DRW Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 81.5% in the 3rd quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 6,677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $692,000 after purchasing an additional 2,999 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.