Forsta AP Fonden Boosts Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Forsta AP Fonden increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 10.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 66,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,400 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $21,128,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 107.1% during the 2nd quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 14,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,642,000 after acquiring an additional 7,500 shares during the period. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 21.4% during the second quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 9,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,758 shares during the last quarter. Petra Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $812,000. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 735,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $234,226,000 after buying an additional 2,806 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,381,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $762,473,000 after buying an additional 94,940 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total value of $2,396,320.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 100,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,186,742.58. This represents a 7.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael Robert Pesch purchased 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $247.12 per share, with a total value of $988,480.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president owned 41,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,341,724.88. This trade represents a 10.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,855 shares of company stock worth $8,916,928. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $255.86 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $286.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $305.66. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $239.47 and a 52-week high of $351.23. The company has a market cap of $65.60 billion, a PE ratio of 36.34 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup cut their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $330.00 to $277.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $340.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $275.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.64.

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.