Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. Grows Position in Brown & Brown, Inc. $BRO

Key Points

• Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. by 53.8% to 27,057 shares, worth approximately $3.37 million.
• Bank of America upgraded Brown & Brown from a "neutral" to a "buy" rating, raising its price target from $126.00 to $130.00.
• Brown & Brown reported earnings of $1.03 per share for the last quarter, surpassing expectations, with a revenue increase of 9.1% year-over-year.

Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO - Free Report) by 53.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,057 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 9,467 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Brown & Brown were worth $3,366,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the first quarter worth about $1,929,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 104.4% in the first quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 419 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 7.1% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 6,807 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $847,000 after acquiring an additional 450 shares during the period. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Brown & Brown by 2.5% in the first quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 764,709 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $95,130,000 after acquiring an additional 18,677 shares during the period. Finally, FORA Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Brown & Brown in the fourth quarter worth about $580,000. Institutional investors own 71.01% of the company's stock.

Brown & Brown Trading Up 0.2%

BRO stock traded up $0.2060 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $96.6060. 1,593,830 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,848,808. Brown & Brown, Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.38 and a 52-week high of $125.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 6.72 and a current ratio of 6.72. The business has a 50 day moving average of $102.09 and a 200-day moving average of $110.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.78.

Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.04. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 19.89%.The business had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.93 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 4.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Brown & Brown Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 13th. Brown & Brown's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.29%.

Insider Activity at Brown & Brown

In other Brown & Brown news, Director Paul J. Krump purchased 2,678 shares of Brown & Brown stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $93.31 per share, for a total transaction of $249,884.18. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 5,353 shares in the company, valued at $499,488.43. This represents a 100.11% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Bronislaw Edmund Masojada purchased 1,000 shares of Brown & Brown stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $91.44 per share, for a total transaction of $91,440.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 5,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $457,200. This trade represents a 25.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 17.02% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BRO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays dropped their price target on Brown & Brown from $111.00 to $108.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Brown & Brown from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $104.00 to $101.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Truist Financial set a $120.00 price target on Brown & Brown in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $120.00 price target (down from $125.00) on shares of Brown & Brown in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Brown & Brown from $109.00 to $105.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brown & Brown presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $112.64.

Brown & Brown Profile

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.