Securian Asset Management Inc. Has $1.29 Million Position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO)

Securian Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 12,666 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 365 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $1,292,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BRO. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown in the third quarter valued at $229,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Brown & Brown in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Brown & Brown by 8.8% in the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,648 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Brown & Brown by 0.4% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 253,895 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,304,000 after acquiring an additional 956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in Brown & Brown by 26.7% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $346,000 after acquiring an additional 703 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Brown & Brown from $116.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $134.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $99.00 to $97.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $113.17.

Brown & Brown Price Performance

Shares of Brown & Brown stock opened at $118.21 on Friday. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a twelve month low of $80.33 and a twelve month high of $121.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $109.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.85.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.10. Brown & Brown had a net margin of 20.68% and a return on equity of 17.81%. Analysts forecast that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 EPS for the current year.

Brown & Brown Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. Brown & Brown’s payout ratio is presently 17.34%.

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.