7,438,704 Shares in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Bought by Norges Bank

Key Points

• Norges Bank disclosed a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., buying 7.44 million shares valued at about $1.93 billion, which represented roughly 2.9% of the company.
• Several other institutional investors also adjusted holdings, and institutions now own 85.53% of AJG; meanwhile, insiders sold shares recently, including VP Christopher E. Mead and VP Scott R. Hudson.
• Arthur J. Gallagher reported Q1 earnings of $4.47 per share, slightly beating estimates, while revenue rose 29% year over year; the company also declared a $0.70 quarterly dividend and analysts currently have a Moderate Buy consensus with a $264 price target.

Norges Bank bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 7,438,704 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,925,062,000. Norges Bank owned about 2.90% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth about $5,127,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth about $458,000. National Pension Service increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 508,412 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $131,572,000 after purchasing an additional 30,784 shares during the last quarter. SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth about $1,371,000. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 1,016 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the business'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 sale, the vice president directly owned 19,306 shares in the company, valued at $4,384,778.72. The trade was a 17.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total transaction of $864,766.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 0.7%

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $201.23 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $211.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $230.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.56, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.54. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $190.75 and a 52-week high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.67 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is presently 45.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AJG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $226.00 to $211.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $235.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $264.00.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AJG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.