Ascent Group LLC Boosts Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 699 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $2,898,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $992,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,409,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. ERn Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.9% in the first quarter. ERn Financial LLC now owns 2,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $636,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.8% in the second quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,331 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,642,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $279.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.06 billion, a PE ratio of 56.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $218.63 and a fifty-two week high of $301.04. The company has a fifty day moving average of $286.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $263.83.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.02. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The firm had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.07, for a total transaction of $2,482,959.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,654,772.41. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,710 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.07, for a total transaction of $2,482,959.70. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,654,772.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.96, for a total value of $4,244,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 329,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $93,121,853.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 44,145 shares of company stock worth $12,622,660. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on AJG. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a report on Friday, July 26th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $254.00 to $293.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $301.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $282.93.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.