Swedbank AB Purchases 59,215 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Swedbank AB significantly increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 429.4% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 59,215 shares worth approximately $25.2 million.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported $2.33 EPS for its most recent quarter, slightly missing analysts' expectations, while its revenue grew 16.0% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65, with a shareholder yield of 0.9%, payable on September 19 to shareholders of record by September 5.

Swedbank AB raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 429.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 73,005 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 59,215 shares during the period. Swedbank AB's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $25,204,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,899 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 3,812 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,289,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 1,603 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $553,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. City Holding Co. grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 1,140 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $394,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 34.3% during the 1st quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 133 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AJG shares. Citigroup initiated coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $317.00 price target on the stock. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $344.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $345.00 to $322.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $333.13.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 0.7%

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded up $2.10 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $291.50. 1,175,641 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,528,123. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.41 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $274.25 and a fifty-two week high of $351.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $299.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $319.08.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.36 by ($0.03). The business 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%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.29 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.93%.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.78, for a total transaction of $899,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 114,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,407,849.06. This represents a 2.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president owned 85,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,569,792. This trade represents a 13.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.