Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.7%, owning over 2 million shares valued at approximately $712 million as of the end of the first quarter.
• Insiders have sold a total of 25,000 shares worth over $8.5 million in recent transactions, indicating a 2.16% decrease in ownership for Director David S. Johnson and a 53.06% decrease for insider Susan E. Pietrucha.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported a Q2 EPS of $2.33, missing estimates, with revenue of $3.18 billion, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share set to be paid in September.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,063,679 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 34,423 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.81% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $712,465,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% in the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,899 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 3,812 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,289,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Allen Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 1,603 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $553,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Allred Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Allred Capital Management LLC now owns 3,380 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $960,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, City Holding Co. raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 1,140 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $345.00 to $322.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Barclays lowered their price objective 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $329.15.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, 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 transaction of $3,540,285.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 91,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,741,474.75. This represents a 10.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total value of $342,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 45,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,502,278.92. The trade was a 2.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,528,080. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

AJG traded up $0.55 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $289.47. The stock had a trading volume of 378,375 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,549,809. The business has a 50-day moving average of $311.35 and a 200-day moving average of $322.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.36. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $274.25 and a one year high of $351.23. The stock has a market cap of $74.22 billion, a PE ratio of 41.11 and a beta of 0.68.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.29 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a $0.65 dividend. 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 (DPR) is currently 36.93%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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.