Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Boosts Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 41,475.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 770,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 768,541 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. accounts for about 0.4% of Balyasny Asset Management L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned approximately 0.30% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $246,619,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 209.1% in the 2nd quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth $33,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth $34,000. Steph & Co. bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter valued at $45,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AJG has been the subject of several research reports. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $291.00 price target for the company. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $340.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Monday. Finally, Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Friday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total value of $2,396,320.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 100,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,186,742.58. This represents a 7.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael Robert Pesch acquired 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $247.12 per share, with a total value of $988,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 41,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,341,724.88. This trade represents a 10.57% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 21,250 shares of company stock valued at $6,071,365. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 3.2%

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $255.47 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $263.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $292.82. 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. has a 1-year low of $236.34 and a 1-year high of $351.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.19 and a beta of 0.69.

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). The company had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.34 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 11.98% and a net margin of 13.58%.Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.26 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

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