Russell Investments Group Ltd. Buys 47,181 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. has increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 26.3%, now owning approximately 0.09% of the company, valued at $78.3 million.
• In the first quarter, several hedge funds modified their holdings, with Motco lifting its stake in the company by 700%, though insiders sold a total of 25,000 shares in recent months.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported Q2 earnings per share of $2.33, missing estimates, while declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.9%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 26.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 226,857 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 47,181 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.09% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $78,269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Prudential PLC grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 107.2% during the first quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 9,224 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,184,000 after purchasing an additional 4,773 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.0% during the first quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 100,388 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,603,000 after purchasing an additional 4,742 shares during the last quarter. Telligent Fund LP grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.6% during the first quarter. Telligent Fund LP now owns 11,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,901,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.9% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 57,383 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $19,811,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trillium Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,667,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AJG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $317.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $331.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.17, for a total transaction of $3,540,285.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 91,175 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total transaction of $4,645,755.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 11,941 shares in the company, valued at $4,109,256.33. This represents a 53.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 0.3%

AJG traded down $0.79 during trading on Friday, hitting $292.62. The company had a trading volume of 1,237,379 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,665,758. The company has a market capitalization of $75.03 billion, a PE ratio of 41.57 and a beta of 0.68. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $274.25 and a one year high of $351.23. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $308.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $322.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is presently 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.