Hoxton Planning & Management LLC Makes New $538,000 Investment in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Key Points

• Hoxton Planning & Management LLC acquired 1,557 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., valued at approximately $538,000, in the first quarter.
• The company reported $3.67 earnings per share for the quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $3.57.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65, indicating an annualized dividend yield of 0.91%.

Hoxton Planning & Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,557 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $538,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Centennial Bank AR purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter valued at $38,000. Motco lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 700.0% in the 1st quarter. Motco now owns 112 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 205.4% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE AJG traded down $1.33 during trading on Monday, hitting $282.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 754,963 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,540,911. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $274.25 and a 52 week high of $351.23. The firm has a market cap of $72.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.19 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $318.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $323.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.36 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AJG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $371.00 to $373.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $329.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.17, for a total transaction of $3,540,285.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 91,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,741,474.75. This trade represents a 10.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total transaction of $342,040.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 45,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,502,278.92. This represents a 2.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,528,080 over the last three months. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.