Allstate Corp Acquires 10,415 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Allstate Corp increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 114.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 10,415 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 19,529 shares valued at about $5.05 million.
• Two Arthur J. Gallagher vice presidents recently sold shares: Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares and Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares, indicating some insider selling despite the company’s broader institutional ownership remaining high at 85.53%.
• The company beat quarterly EPS expectations with $4.47 per share and also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $264.00.

Allstate Corp increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 114.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,529 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 10,415 shares during the period. Allstate Corp's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $5,054,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 870.0% in the 3rd 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 period. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 668.2% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $908,480.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 19,306 shares in the company, valued at $4,384,778.72. The trade was a 17.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total transaction of $864,766.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at $19,552,814.40. This represents a 4.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $204.21 on Wednesday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $190.75 and a 12 month high of $351.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $211.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $231.78. The company has a market cap of $52.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.54.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.04. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The company had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.67 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s quarterly revenue was up 29.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.22 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is currently 45.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AJG. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $275.00 to $278.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $235.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. 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 on the stock. UBS Group set a $240.00 target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $264.00.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.