Burkehill Global Management LP Cuts Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Key Points

• Burkehill Global Management LP significantly reduced its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 66.4% during the first quarter, now holding 185,000 shares, which represents 4.8% of its portfolio.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 0.9%.
• The company reported $2.33 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing analyst estimates, while revenue increased 16.0% year-over-year.

Burkehill Global Management LP trimmed its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 66.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 185,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 365,000 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. makes up approximately 4.8% of Burkehill Global Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Burkehill Global Management LP owned approximately 0.07% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $63,869,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 4,815,007 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,199,413 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,327,403,000 after purchasing an additional 1,910,471 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1,511.2% in the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,758,166 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $499,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,649,046 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 53,148.8% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,319,505 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $374,541,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317,027 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ghisallo Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $269,658,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays dropped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday. They issued an "overweight" rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $329.15.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total transaction of $342,040.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 45,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,502,278.92. This represents a 2.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.17, for a total value of $3,540,285.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 91,175 shares in the company, valued at $30,741,474.75. This trade represents a 10.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,528,080 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded up $1.69 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $290.61. 1,275,905 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,664,415. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $274.25 and a one year high of $351.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.28 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $310.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $322.60.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The company's revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is 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.