AXQ Capital LP Makes New $730,000 Investment in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

AXQ Capital LP acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 2,358 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $730,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AJG. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 870.0% in the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 40.6% in the 3rd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Solstein Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth approximately $49,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $214.25 on Tuesday. 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. has a 52 week low of $195.00 and a 52 week high of $351.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $245.55 and a 200-day moving average of $267.54.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 12.13%. The company had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 33.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.05, for a total value of $1,290,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 95,777 shares in the company, valued at $24,715,254.85. This represents a 4.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.11, for a total value of $1,032,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 17,327 shares in the company, valued at $4,472,271.97. This trade represents a 18.76% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 24,850 shares of company stock valued at $6,364,440 over the last 90 days. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AJG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $311.00 to $298.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Truist Financial set a $271.00 target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Friday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $279.00 to $249.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $283.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $282.76.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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.