Czech National Bank Grows Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Czech National Bank boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 67,715 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,604 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $17,524,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AJG. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in 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. increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $210.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $195.00 and a 12 month high of $351.23. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $226.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $254.97. The company has a market cap of $53.99 billion, a PE ratio of 34.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.67.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 33.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AJG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $292.00 price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Mizuho upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $226.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $275.00 to $278.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $273.82.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total value of $864,766.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at $19,552,814.40. The trade was a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $908,480.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 19,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,384,778.72. This trade represents a 17.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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.