Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) Given New $86.00 Price Target at Mizuho

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) had its price objective hoisted by research analysts at Mizuho from $81.00 to $86.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Mizuho’s price objective points to a potential upside of 14.06% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on BRO. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 price target (up from $65.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Brown & Brown in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $69.00 to $68.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $76.00 to $72.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $62.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Brown & Brown presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.06.

Brown & Brown Stock Performance

BRO traded up $1.75 on Wednesday, reaching $75.40. The company had a trading volume of 734,707 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,245,329. Brown & Brown has a fifty-two week low of $53.81 and a fifty-two week high of $98.30. The stock has a market cap of $25.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.60. The company’s fifty day moving average is $62.81 and its 200 day moving average is $66.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.64.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.01). Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 13.19% and a net margin of 17.75%.The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 30.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Brown & Brown will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Brown & Brown

In other news, Director H Palmer Proctor, Jr. acquired 2,000 shares of Brown & Brown stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $57.10 per share, for a total transaction of $114,200.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 47,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,719,159.10. This trade represents a 4.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 13.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Brown & Brown

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Brown & Brown in the first quarter worth $25,000. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Brown & Brown during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Brown & Brown in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Allied Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown in the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. 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.