Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. Has $4.53 Million Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C. grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 2.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 392 shares during the period. Prescott Group Capital Management L.L.C.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $4,526,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AJG shares. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $330.00 to $277.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 3rd. One 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total value of $3,825,648.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,569,792. This trade represents a 13.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Michael Robert Pesch purchased 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $247.12 per share, for a total transaction of $988,480.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president directly owned 41,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,341,724.88. This represents a 10.57% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 29,855 shares of company stock valued at $8,916,928 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

AJG stock opened at $249.75 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $64.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.48 and a beta of 0.71. 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 50 day simple moving average of $289.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $307.23. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $239.47 and a 1 year high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.26 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 38.86%.

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.