Aberdeen Group plc Raises Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.9% in the second quarter, holding approximately 139,796 shares valued at $44,751,000.
• Citigroup initiated coverage with a neutral rating and a price target of $317.00, while several analysts have set an average price target of $331.43 with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy.
• Recent insider selling included CFO Douglas K. Howell and VP Scott R. Hudson, contributing to a total of 29,855 shares sold worth nearly $8.9 million over the last quarter.

Aberdeen Group plc increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 3.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 139,796 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,211 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.05% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $44,751,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Centennial Bank AR purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,750.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AJG shares. Citigroup started coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $317.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $340.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $288.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $331.43.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total value of $2,396,320.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 100,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,186,742.58. The trade was a 7.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total value of $3,825,648.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,569,792. The trade was a 13.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 29,855 shares of company stock worth $8,916,928. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $301.75 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $275.56 and a 52 week high of $351.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.37 billion, a PE ratio of 42.86 and a beta of 0.73. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $299.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $315.45.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is presently 36.93%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

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.

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