Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Stock Position Raised by Annex Advisory Services LLC

Key Points

• Annex Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 16.1% during the second quarter, owning 76,997 shares worth approximately $24.65 million.
• Arthur J. Gallagher reported earnings per share of $2.33 for the last quarter, falling short of the consensus estimate, with a revenue of $3.18 billion which also missed analyst expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, resulting in an annualized payout of $2.60 and a dividend yield of 0.9%.

Annex Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 16.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 76,997 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,703 shares during the quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $24,648,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,411,264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,499,185,000 after purchasing an additional 739,130 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 38.3% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,372,745 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,997,767,000 after buying an additional 4,815,007 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.9% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,959,673 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,021,798,000 after acquiring an additional 137,354 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.4% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,364,759 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $816,409,000 after acquiring an additional 9,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,336,591 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $796,217,000 after purchasing an additional 7,594 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The stock was 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 represents a 13.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.78, for a total transaction of $899,340.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 114,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,407,849.06. This represents a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $299.90 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average is $298.80 and its 200-day moving average is $318.17. The firm has a market cap of $76.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.60 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $274.25 and a 1-year high of $351.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors 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 of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is currently 36.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AJG shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $344.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $369.00 to $365.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $317.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $330.93.

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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