Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Purchased by Asset Management One Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake by 12.1% in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in Q4, owning 127,525 shares valued at about $33.55 million as of its latest SEC filing, and institutions now hold roughly 85.53% of the stock.
• Two company VPs sold shares in early March—Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares at about $227.12 and Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares at about $227.57—reducing insider ownership to approximately 1.40%.
• Analysts hold a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $273.94; the company recently beat quarterly EPS estimates and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.70 (annualized $2.80, ~1.3% yield).

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 12.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 127,525 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 13,775 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $33,549,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AJG. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter worth about $9,877,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,338,533 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,299,674,000 after buying an additional 3,330,205 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 10.2% during the third quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 65,889 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $20,398,000 after buying an additional 6,090 shares during the period. Cincinnati Financial Corp bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,824,000. Finally, Factory Mutual Insurance Co. increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 241.4% in the 3rd quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 49,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $15,332,000 after acquiring an additional 35,000 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $908,480.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 19,306 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,384,778.72. This represents a 17.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total value of $864,766.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 85,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,552,814.40. This trade represents a 4.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $283.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $235.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $292.00 target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $275.00 to $278.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $273.94.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of AJG stock opened at $221.42 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $195.00 and a 1 year high of $351.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The business's fifty day moving average is $216.32 and its 200-day moving average is $245.59. The stock has a market cap of $56.93 billion, a PE ratio of 36.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.68.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue was up 33.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio 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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