Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Sold by Gabelli Funds LLC

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC sharply cut its AJG stake in the fourth quarter, selling 17,709 shares and reducing its position by 84.6% to 3,216 shares worth about $832,000.
• Arthur J. Gallagher reported solid quarterly results, with EPS of $4.47 beating estimates by $0.04 and revenue rising 29% year over year to $4.71 billion.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, implying an annualized payout of $2.80 and a yield of 1.4%.

Gabelli Funds LLC reduced its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 84.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,216 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 17,709 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $832,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth about $2,825,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,429,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 5,947 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,919.2% in the 2nd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 19,987 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,398,000 after purchasing an additional 19,325 shares during the period. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter valued at $412,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $226.00 to $211.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $235.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $280.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $240.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $264.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $204.89 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $190.75 and a one year high of $351.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.64 billion, a PE ratio of 33.15, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.54. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $211.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $232.49.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 10.76%.The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.67 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.31%.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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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