Bank of America Corp DE Raises Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 23.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,854,488 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 346,409 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.72% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $401,645,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,970,990 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $426,887,000 after purchasing an additional 101,431 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Advisors MI acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at about $166,000. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 939,835 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $203,549,000 after buying an additional 9,250 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 484,330 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $104,896,000 after acquiring an additional 14,922 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 15.2% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 25,290 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,477,000 after acquiring an additional 3,337 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 0.0%

AJG opened at $249.35 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.06 billion, a PE ratio of 41.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $190.75 and a 12-month high of $313.55. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $231.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $224.80.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 9.96% and a return on equity of 13.28%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.33 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.43%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $618,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 47,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,850,714. The trade was a 5.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Here are the key news stories impacting Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter adjusted earnings were $2.84 per share, exceeding the $2.81 analyst consensus and rising from $2.33 a year earlier. Revenue increased 24.3% year over year to approximately $3.95 billion, supported by acquisitions and 6% organic growth across the Brokerage and Risk Management segments. Arthur J. Gallagher quarterly earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised their outlooks following the earnings release. RBC lifted its price target to $310 from $300 and retained an Outperform rating, while Mizuho raised its target to $300 from $287 and also maintained Outperform. William Blair reaffirmed its Buy rating, citing cash EPS growth, resilient brokerage performance and potential upside from mergers and acquisitions. William Blair Buy rating reaffirmed
• Positive Sentiment: Gallagher repurchased roughly 900,000 shares for about $170 million during the quarter and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, providing additional shareholder returns. Arthur J. Gallagher second-quarter results
• Neutral Sentiment: Truist raised its target to $265 but kept a Hold rating, while Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased its target to $271 and maintained Market Perform. The mixed ratings suggest analysts see valuation and execution risks despite longer-term growth potential. Analyst price-target changes
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue fell short of the approximately $4.01 billion consensus estimate as higher expenses and lower interest income offset otherwise strong operating growth. Reported net earnings declined to $324 million from $368 million a year earlier, while reported diluted EPS fell to $1.25 from $1.40. These results likely explain why the stock has decreased despite the adjusted EPS beat. AJG second-quarter earnings analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that acquisitions are contributing more to headline growth while insurance-broker organic growth could moderate. With AJG trading at a relatively high earnings multiple, the revenue miss and profitability pressure may have prompted profit-taking after the results.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AJG shares. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $235.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $299.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $285.29.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.

The company's core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.

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