Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Given New $104.00 Price Target at Jefferies Financial Group

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) had its price objective lifted by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $98.00 to $104.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective suggests a potential downside of 1.86% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. StockNews.com upgraded Brown & Brown from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Argus started coverage on Brown & Brown in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $120.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $108.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Brown & Brown from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $94.00 to $112.00 in a research note on Monday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.83.

Brown & Brown Trading Up 0.7 %

Brown & Brown stock traded up $0.72 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $105.97. 468,147 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,303,226. The firm has a market cap of $30.23 billion, a PE ratio of 32.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $102.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.47. Brown & Brown has a 12-month low of $66.73 and a 12-month high of $106.37.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 21.95% and a return on equity of 17.00%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.68 EPS. Research analysts expect that Brown & Brown will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Brown & Brown

In other Brown & Brown news, Chairman Hyatt J. Brown sold 134,640 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.51, for a total transaction of $14,071,226.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Hyatt J. Brown sold 134,640 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.51, for a total value of $14,071,226.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO R. Andrew Watts sold 2,500 shares of Brown & Brown stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.32, for a total transaction of $250,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 88,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,872,802.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Brown & Brown

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its position in Brown & Brown by 330.4% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the first quarter worth $36,000. First PREMIER Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the first quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Intelligent Financial Strategies purchased a new position in Brown & Brown during the first quarter worth about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Brown & Brown Company Profile

Brown & Brown, Inc markets and sells insurance products and services in the United States, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Retail, National Programs, Wholesale Brokerage, and Services. The Retail segment provides property and casualty, employee benefits insurance products, personal insurance products, specialties insurance products, risk management strategies, loss control survey and analysis, consultancy, and claims processing services.