Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Sold by Fiera Capital Corp

Key Points

• Fiera Capital Corp reduced its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 15,342 shares and leaving it with 160,603 shares valued at about $41.6 million.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported better-than-expected quarterly EPS of $4.47 versus $4.43 forecast, while revenue came in slightly below estimates at $4.71 billion; revenue still rose 29% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, payable June 19, and analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average target price of $264.59.

Fiera Capital Corp trimmed its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 8.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 160,603 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 15,342 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp owned approximately 0.06% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $41,562,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth about $2,825,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at about $3,429,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 118,467 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,924,000 after buying an additional 5,947 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,919.2% during the 2nd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 19,987 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,398,000 after acquiring an additional 19,325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $412,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $212.45 on Tuesday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $210.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $228.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.38, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $190.75 and a 52 week high of $327.83.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.73 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 10.76%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.67 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $618,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 47,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,850,714. The trade was a 5.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AJG. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $266.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $235.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $280.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $264.59.

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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