Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Purchased by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 40,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,778 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $12,438,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. J.Safra Asset Management Corp increased its stake 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 buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Steph & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter worth $40,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 40.6% during the third quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AJG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho assumed coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Monday, December 15th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $276.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial cut their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $344.00 to $328.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Needham & Company LLC set a $272.00 price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Friday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.53.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $264.66 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $236.34 and a one year high of $351.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.56 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $252.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $282.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.34 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 11.98% and a net margin of 13.58%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.26 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 38.86%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.11, for a total transaction of $1,032,440.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 17,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,472,271.97. This represents a 18.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Michael Robert Pesch acquired 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $247.12 per share, with a total value of $988,480.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 41,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,341,724.88. This trade represents a 10.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 32,100 shares of company stock worth $8,243,865 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.

The company’s core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.