Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Acquired by Beck Mack & Oliver LLC

Key Points

• Beck Mack & Oliver LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (AJG) by 4.7% in Q3 to 734,079 shares — about 0.29% of AJG and worth roughly $227.37 million, making AJG its seventh-largest holding.
• Other major institutional moves included JPMorgan boosting its AJG position to 20,338,533 shares (~$6.30 billion) and Norges Bank initiating a ~ $1.54 billion stake; institutional ownership of AJG stands at 85.53%.
• AJG raised its quarterly dividend to $0.70 (annualized $2.80, yield ~1.3%) and reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping estimates while revenue rose 33.9% year-over-year.

Beck Mack & Oliver LLC increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 4.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 734,079 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 32,636 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. comprises approximately 4.1% of Beck Mack & Oliver LLC's holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC owned 0.29% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $227,374,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth about $1,536,230,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,338,533 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,299,674,000 after purchasing an additional 3,330,205 shares during the period. Sands Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 453.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 1,121,249 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $358,934,000 after purchasing an additional 918,618 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 41,475.5% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 770,394 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $246,619,000 after purchasing an additional 768,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.5% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,107,390 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $962,483,000 after purchasing an additional 725,555 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $260.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, February 27th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $226.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Needham & Company LLC set a $272.00 price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $277.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $289.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $282.65.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $908,480.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 19,306 shares in the company, valued at $4,384,778.72. The trade was a 17.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total transaction of $864,766.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,552,814.40. This represents a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 32,650 shares of company stock valued at $8,137,686 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $207.86 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $195.00 and a 1 year high of $351.23. The firm has a market cap of $53.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.80, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $234.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $260.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.13% and a net margin of 11.84%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 33.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.12 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.53%.

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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