Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Purchased by AQR Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.9% during the first quarter, increasing its ownership to 136,542 shares valued at approximately $47 million.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported a 16.0% year-over-year increase in revenue for the last quarter, with earnings per share (EPS) of $2.33, slightly below the consensus estimate of $2.36.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65, scheduled for payment on September 19th, with an annualized yield of 0.9%.

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 8.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 136,542 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 11,165 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.05% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $47,008,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 22.5% in the 1st quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $388,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth about $382,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,750.0% during the first 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. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,280 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,879,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seven Grand Managers LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,096,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.78, for a total transaction of $899,340.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 114,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,407,849.06. This represents a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total transaction of $3,825,648.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,569,792. The trade was a 13.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded down $3.34 during trading on Friday, hitting $297.27. 1,302,078 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,310,043. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.23 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $300.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $319.76. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $274.25 and a 52-week high of $351.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%.Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.29 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. 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 payout ratio is presently 36.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AJG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $371.00 to $373.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $317.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $345.00 to $322.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $333.13.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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.