Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Stock Holdings Boosted by PFG Advisors

PFG Advisors grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 13.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 29,265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,512 shares during the quarter. PFG Advisors’ holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $9,368,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp grew 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 worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Motco lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 700.0% during the 1st quarter. Motco now owns 112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SouthState Corp bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on AJG. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $330.00 to $277.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $353.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $365.00 to $366.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.73.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG opened at $249.75 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $289.46 and its 200-day moving average is $307.23. 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 company has a market capitalization of $64.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.48 and a beta of 0.71. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $239.47 and a fifty-two week high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.34 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.26 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 38.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total transaction of $2,396,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 100,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,186,742.58. This trade represents a 7.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael Robert Pesch bought 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $247.12 per share, for a total transaction of $988,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 41,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,341,724.88. The trade was a 10.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,855 shares of company stock worth $8,916,928. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.