BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC Cuts Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC reduced its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG – Get Rating) by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 107,628 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,493 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SNC owned 0.05% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $18,428,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,287 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 49.0% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $925,000 after purchasing an additional 1,744 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $838,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 37.7% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $442,000 after acquiring an additional 693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 25.0% in the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 11,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,953,000 after acquiring an additional 2,235 shares in the last quarter. 82.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on AJG. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Thursday, January 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $211.00 target price for the company. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $225.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 1st. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $195.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $215.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Patrick Murphy Gallagher sold 5,051 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.34, for a total value of $956,356.34. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 34,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,462,931.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 18,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.66, for a total value of $3,565,342.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 42,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,051,762.46. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Patrick Murphy Gallagher sold 5,051 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.34, for a total value of $956,356.34. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 34,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,462,931.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,933 shares of company stock worth $4,747,098 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.9 %

AJG opened at $183.35 on Wednesday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $148.24 and a one year high of $202.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $191.22 and its 200-day moving average is $187.28. The company has a market capitalization of $38.89 billion, a PE ratio of 35.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.69.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 18.64% and a net margin of 13.08%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 2nd. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 42.31%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

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Arthur J. Gallagher & Co engages in the provision of insurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party claims settlement and administration services. It operates through the following business segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.