Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Increases Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 0.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,634 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $7,385,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,287 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 49.0% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 5,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $925,000 after acquiring an additional 1,744 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $838,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 37.7% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $442,000 after acquiring an additional 693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 25.0% during the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 11,184 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,953,000 after acquiring an additional 2,235 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.15% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of AJG opened at $244.14 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $233.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $222.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $52.71 billion, a PE ratio of 46.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.69. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $174.45 and a fifty-two week high of $249.35.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The financial services provider reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.94 by $0.06. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 18.46% and a net margin of 11.76%. The company had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.72 EPS. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 8.77 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 30th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.15%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.15, for a total transaction of $230,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 45,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,480,570.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.14, for a total transaction of $746,262.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,445,930.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.15, for a total transaction of $230,150.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 45,538 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,480,570.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 96,926 shares of company stock valued at $22,505,073 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on AJG. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $262.00 to $266.00 in a research note on Friday, October 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $237.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 14th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $238.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 27th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.71.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to businesses and organizations worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.