Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Stock Bought by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management increased its AJG stake by 732.7% in the third quarter, purchasing 246,259 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 279,869 shares valued at approximately $64.2 million. Institutional investors collectively own 85.53% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a favorable view of Arthur J. Gallagher, with 16 Buy ratings and five Hold ratings. The stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $280.74.
• AJG recently reported quarterly earnings of $2.84 per share, exceeding estimates by $0.03, while revenue rose 24.3% year over year to $3.95 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, equivalent to a 1.1% annual yield.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 732.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 279,869 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 246,259 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.11% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $64,221,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 123.5% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,887,538 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,523,636,000 after purchasing an additional 3,253,498 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.4% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,242,088 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $702,182,000 after buying an additional 409,145 shares during the last quarter. Gtcr LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth about $514,112,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.4% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,970,990 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $426,887,000 after acquiring an additional 101,431 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 23.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,854,488 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $401,645,000 after purchasing an additional 346,409 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.86, for a total transaction of $252,860.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,838,652.34. This represents a 2.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.08, for a total transaction of $3,240,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 71,292 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,254,543.36. This represents a 14.41% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 28,500 shares of company stock valued at $7,562,950. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AJG has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $295.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $295.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $225.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Mizuho decreased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $292.00 to $271.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Argus upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $267.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $280.74.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.8%

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $254.55 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $65.24 billion, a PE ratio of 20.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $190.75 and a fifty-two week high of $284.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $246.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $232.18.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.28% and a net margin of 9.96%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.33 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 8th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is currently 46.43%.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting company headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. The company helps businesses, public entities and individuals identify, manage and transfer risk through insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting, risk management and related advisory services.

Gallagher operates through several businesses, including retail insurance brokerage, wholesale brokerage and reinsurance brokerage. Its Gallagher Re business provides reinsurance broking and advisory services, while Gallagher Bassett provides third-party claims administration and related risk management services.

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