Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Purchases 3,830 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.5%, acquiring 3,830 shares for a total of 111,964 shares worth approximately $35.84 million.
• CFO Douglas K. Howell and VP Scott R. Hudson recently sold shares of the company, with Howell's sale leading to a 7.35% decrease in his ownership position.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.33, missing estimates by $0.03, but its revenue increased by 16% year-over-year.

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 3.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 111,964 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,830 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $35,842,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,899 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,001,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 3,812 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,289,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 1,603 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $553,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,542 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $494,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,746 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $948,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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

In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total value of $2,396,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 100,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,186,742.58. This trade represents a 7.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total value of $3,825,648.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at $25,569,792. This represents a 13.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,855 shares of company stock valued at $8,916,928 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE AJG opened at $281.01 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $298.41 and a 200-day moving average of $312.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.92 and a beta of 0.73. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $275.56 and a 52 week high of $351.23. 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. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.36 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.29 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were paid 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 was Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AJG. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $344.00 target price for the company. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $340.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $365.00 to $366.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $331.43.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.