Prosperity Financial Group Inc. Acquires Shares of 912 Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Prosperity Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 912 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $292,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter valued at $34,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 209.1% during the second quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Centennial Bank AR purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Motco lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 700.0% during the first quarter. Motco now owns 112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AJG shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $365.00 to $366.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $288.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $331.43.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total value of $2,396,320.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 100,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,186,742.58. The trade was a 7.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total transaction of $3,825,648.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at $25,569,792. This trade represents a 13.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,855 shares of company stock worth $8,916,928 over the last ninety days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG stock opened at $282.98 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $298.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $312.92. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $275.56 and a 12 month high of $351.23. The company has a market capitalization of $72.56 billion, a PE ratio of 40.20 and a beta of 0.73.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by ($0.03). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%.The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 36.93%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co engages in the provision of insurance brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party claims settlement and administration services. It operates through the following segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.