Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Acquired by Gabelli Funds LLC

Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 16.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,031 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $6,699,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 209.1% during the 2nd quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. SouthState Corp acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Steph & Co. purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research started coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $291.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $362.00 to $344.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.87.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.00, for a total value of $1,566,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 50,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,224,348. The trade was a 10.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.74, for a total value of $313,425.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 17,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,344,571.98. This trade represents a 6.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 21,250 shares of company stock worth $6,071,365 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $239.76 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $61.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.84 and a beta of 0.69. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $236.70 and a 12-month high of $351.23. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $267.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $294.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its 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 net margin of 13.58% and a return on equity of 11.98%. The company had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.26 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business 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 of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.86%.

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.