Bath Savings Trust Co Acquires 4,088 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Bath Savings Trust Co increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 17.1%, acquiring an additional 4,088 shares, bringing its total to 28,049 shares valued at approximately $8.98 million.
• Insiders, including VP Scott R. Hudson and CFO Douglas K. Howell, have sold significant amounts of stock, with Hudson selling 12,855 shares for about $3.83 million, representing a 13.01% decrease in his ownership.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported earnings of $2.33 per share for the last quarter, slightly missing estimates, but showed a 16.0% year-over-year increase in revenue, totaling $3.18 billion.

Bath Savings Trust Co boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 17.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,049 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,088 shares during the period. Bath Savings Trust Co's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $8,979,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,411,264 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,499,185,000 after purchasing an additional 739,130 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 38.3% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,372,745 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,997,767,000 after buying an additional 4,815,007 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,959,673 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,021,798,000 after buying an additional 137,354 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.4% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,364,759 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $816,409,000 after acquiring an additional 9,458 shares during the period. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.3% during the first quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,336,591 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $796,217,000 after acquiring an additional 7,594 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG traded up $3.16 during trading on Friday, hitting $299.90. 2,605,274 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,301,658. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $274.25 and a 52-week high of $351.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $298.80 and a 200 day moving average of $318.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The company has a market cap of $76.89 billion, a PE ratio of 42.60 and a beta of 0.72.

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 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during 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%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is 36.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AJG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $344.00 target price 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. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $369.00 to $365.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $330.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total transaction of $3,825,648.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 3,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.78, for a total value of $899,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 114,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,407,849.06. This represents a 2.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.