Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Holdings Lifted by Saudi Central Bank

Saudi Central Bank grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 89.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,997 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 8,518 shares during the period. Saudi Central Bank's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $4,132,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,613,371 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,264,359,000 after acquiring an additional 830,252 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,953,598 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,834,682,000 after acquiring an additional 62,518 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth $1,925,062,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 123.5% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,887,538 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,523,636,000 after purchasing an additional 3,253,498 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.4% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,242,088 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $702,182,000 after purchasing an additional 409,145 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.13, for a total transaction of $3,169,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 90,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,840,902.06. This represents a 11.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.08, for a total value of $3,240,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 71,292 shares in the company, valued at $19,254,543.36. The trade was a 14.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 27,500 shares of company stock valued at $7,310,090. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $261.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $291.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $276.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $290.28.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $262.24 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $254.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $227.80. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $190.75 and a 52 week high of $313.55. The stock has a market cap of $67.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.49, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 9.96% and a return on equity of 13.28%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.33 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.43%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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.

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