Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

Key Points

• New York State Teachers Retirement System reduced its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.4% to 176,652 shares, now valued at approximately $56.55 million.
• Analysts' ratings indicate a consensus of Moderate Buy for the stock, with an average price target of $331.43, while Citigroup set a neutral rating with a target of $317.00.
• Insider transactions revealed that CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares worth approximately $2.4 million, reducing his holdings by 7.35% as the company recently reported fluctuating earnings performance.

New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 1.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 176,652 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,509 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.07% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $56,550,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 209.1% during the 2nd quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Centennial Bank AR purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth $38,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AJG. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $317.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $365.00 to $366.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $340.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $331.43.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total value of $2,396,320.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 100,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,186,742.58. This represents a 7.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total transaction of $3,825,648.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,569,792. This trade represents a 13.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,855 shares of company stock worth $8,916,928. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $280.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $299.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $314.50. The stock has a market cap of $71.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.79 and a beta of 0.73. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $275.56 and a 1-year high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.20 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is 36.93%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co engages in the provision of insurance brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party claims settlement and administration services. It operates through the following segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.

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