Vise Technologies Inc. Makes New Investment in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 2,882 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $923,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AJG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 38.3% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,372,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,997,767,000 after acquiring an additional 4,815,007 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,411,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,499,185,000 after purchasing an additional 739,130 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth approximately $240,665,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3,142.2% in the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 640,911 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $221,268,000 after purchasing an additional 621,143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth about $136,565,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $256.70 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $239.47 and a 1 year high of $351.23. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $285.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $305.32. 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 $65.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.46 and a beta of 0.71.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%.The business had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.34 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.26 EPS. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total value of $3,825,648.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,569,792. The trade was a 13.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael Robert Pesch bought 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $247.12 per share, with a total value of $988,480.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 41,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,341,724.88. This trade represents a 10.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders sold 29,855 shares of company stock valued at $8,916,928 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AJG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $340.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Evercore ISI lowered 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 report on Friday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. UBS Group increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $275.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.64.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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.