Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Purchased by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 21.9% in the fourth quarter, buying 306,493 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 1.71 million shares worth about $442 million.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $4.47 per share on April 30, while revenue rose 29% year over year to $4.71 billion. Analysts currently expect AJG to earn 13.27 EPS for the full fiscal year.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. declared a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, payable June 19, and its shares recently traded around $210.77 with Wall Street maintaining an average Moderate Buy rating and $264 price target.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 21.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,708,676 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 306,493 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 0.67% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $442,188,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.4% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,064 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $949,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.7% during the third quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 1,616 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $501,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.9% during the third quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 1,551 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $480,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.1% during the third quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 10,061 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,604,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $618,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 47,819 shares in the company, valued at $9,850,714. The trade was a 5.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $210.77 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.10, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.52. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $210.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $229.38. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $190.75 and a twelve month high of $337.33.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.04. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.67 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is currently 45.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $226.00 to $211.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Citigroup raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $280.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $264.00.

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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