Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Sold by Mizuho Securities USA LLC

Key Points

• Mizuho Securities USA LLC has reduced its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.0%, now holding 20,366 shares worth $7,031,000.
• Insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares at an average price of $344.13, resulting in a 53.06% reduction in her position.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.9% to be paid on September 19th.

Mizuho Securities USA LLC cut its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 14.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,366 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,306 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $7,031,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AJG. Fiduciary Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth approximately $334,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 18.7% during the first quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 121,462 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $41,934,000 after buying an additional 19,159 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 38.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% during the first quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 6,292 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,172,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth approximately $209,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup assumed coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $317.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $371.00 to $373.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Barclays reduced their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $331.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.17, for a total transaction of $3,540,285.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 91,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,741,474.75. The trade was a 10.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total value of $4,645,755.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,109,256.33. The trade was a 53.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,528,080 in the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of AJG stock traded down $2.63 on Thursday, hitting $292.47. The stock had a trading volume of 624,299 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,548,246. 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 market capitalization of $74.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.54 and a beta of 0.68. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $274.25 and a 1 year high of $351.23. The company's 50 day moving average price is $309.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $322.41.

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 (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is presently 36.93%.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.