Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Acquired by Gamco Investors INC. ET AL

Key Points

• Gamco Investors increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 83% during Q1, owning 23,476 shares valued at $8.1 million.
• Arthur J. Gallagher's stock has been rated with one Strong Buy, five Buy, nine Hold, and one Sell rating, resulting in an average target price of $331.07.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.9%, reflecting a payout ratio of 36.93%.

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 83.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,476 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,649 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $8,105,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at $1,352,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 205.4% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 125,377 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,588,000 after purchasing an additional 7,388 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 253,307 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $71,901,000 after purchasing an additional 11,039 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Monashee Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at $19,870,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded up $3.13 on Monday, hitting $302.75. 1,472,419 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,479,494. The stock has a market cap of $77.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.00 and a beta of 0.72. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $304.74 and its 200 day moving average is $321.51. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $274.25 and a 52-week high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 analysts' expectations of $3.20 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.29 earnings per share. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is 36.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Citigroup assumed 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 for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $331.07.

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.