Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Key Points

• Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 59.5% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 20,702 shares valued at about $5.37 million.
• Insiders also sold shares: VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares and VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares in early March, reducing their holdings.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly EPS of $4.47, while revenue came in slightly below estimates; it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, payable June 19.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 59.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,702 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 30,465 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $5,373,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 870.0% during the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 136 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 668.2% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $908,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 19,306 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,384,778.72. This represents a 17.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the company's 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 sale, the vice president directly 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.9%

AJG stock opened at $207.53 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.58, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $190.75 and a one year high of $351.23. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $211.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $232.68.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.67 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.22 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given 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 dividend payout ratio is 45.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on AJG shares. Piper Sandler dropped 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. Truist Financial dropped their price objective 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. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $262.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of 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, Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $264.00.

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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