Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Sold by Natixis Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 22,126 shares and leaving it with 313,122 shares valued at about $81.0 million.
• Several analysts recently adjusted their outlooks on AJG, with price targets generally moving lower; the stock’s current consensus rating is Moderate Buy with an average target price of $264.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported quarterly EPS of $4.47, beating estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share payable June 19, for an annualized yield of about 1.4%.

Natixis Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 313,122 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 22,126 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.12% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $81,033,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 3rd quarter valued at $9,877,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,338,533 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,299,674,000 after acquiring an additional 3,330,205 shares during the last quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 65,889 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $20,398,000 after acquiring an additional 6,090 shares during the last quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $15,332,000 after acquiring an additional 35,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cincinnati Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter worth $42,824,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on AJG shares. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $280.00 to $250.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $266.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group set a $240.00 target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $240.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $264.00.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on 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 owned 85,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,552,814.40. This trade represents a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $908,480.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 19,306 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,384,778.72. The trade was a 17.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 10,800 shares of company stock valued at $2,391,246 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $205.79 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $52.87 billion, a PE ratio of 33.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $211.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $230.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $190.75 and a 12 month high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.04. The business 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%.Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s revenue was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.67 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

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

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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