Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Position Reduced by Generali Asset Management SPA SGR

Key Points

• Generali Asset Management SPA SGR reduced its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 69.3% during the second quarter, selling over 5,800 shares and leaving it with 2,572 shares valued at approximately $823,000.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported earnings per share (EPS) of $2.33 for the last quarter, missing analysts' expectations by $0.03, while its revenue of $3.18 billion also fell short of the forecasted $3.20 billion.
• The company recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.9%, with a payout ratio of 36.93%.

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR decreased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 69.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,572 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,809 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $823,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% during the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,899 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.8% in the first quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 3,812 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,289,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.1% in the first quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 1,603 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $553,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.3% in the second quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,542 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $494,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.3% in the first quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,746 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $948,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 0.2%

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $280.70 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $299.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $314.07. 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 12 month low of $275.56 and a 12 month high of $351.23. The stock has a market cap of $71.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.87 and a beta of 0.73.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.29 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total value of $2,396,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 100,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,186,742.58. This represents a 7.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total transaction of $3,825,648.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 85,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,569,792. This represents a 13.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,855 shares of company stock valued at $8,916,928 over the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on AJG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $288.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $340.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Erste Group Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $331.43.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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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