Benjamin Edwards Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 18.7%, acquiring an additional 19,159 shares for a total of 121,462 shares valued at approximately $41.93 million.
• Arthur J. Gallagher reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.33, missing the estimated $2.36, while revenue of $3.18 billion was slightly below expectations of $3.20 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, with a payout ratio of 36.93%, and the dividend will be paid to shareholders on September 19th.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 18.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 121,462 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 19,159 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $41,934,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 205.4% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Centennial Bank AR bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,750.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded down $0.42 during trading on Monday, hitting $289.02. The stock had a trading volume of 1,536,864 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,658,846. The stock has a market cap of $74.11 billion, a PE ratio of 41.05 and a beta of 0.68. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $274.25 and a 12 month high of $351.23. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $311.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $322.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.36.

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 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 analysts' expectations of $3.20 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is presently 36.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AJG shares. UBS Group decreased 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 research report on Monday, August 4th. Piper Sandler boosted 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 report on Friday, August 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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 report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $371.00 to $373.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target 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 report on Monday, July 7th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $329.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total value of $4,645,755.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 11,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,109,256.33. This represents a 53.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total transaction of $342,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 45,323 shares in the company, valued at $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 quarter, insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,528,080. 1.30% 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.