Blair William & Co. IL Buys 18,620 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 18.9% during the second quarter, acquiring an additional 18,620 shares, bringing its total to 116,969 shares valued at approximately $37.44 million.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported $2.33 EPS for its latest quarter, missing estimates of $2.36 EPS, with revenue of $3.18 billion compared to expectations of $3.20 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $2.60 and a yield of 0.9%.

Blair William & Co. IL boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 18.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 116,969 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 18,620 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $37,444,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Centennial Bank AR bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Motco grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 700.0% during the first quarter. Motco now owns 112 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $302.07 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $298.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $316.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market cap of $77.45 billion, a PE ratio of 42.91 and a beta of 0.73. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $275.56 and a twelve month high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%.The company had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.29 EPS. The company's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,569,792. The trade was a 13.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total transaction of $2,396,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 100,777 shares in the company, valued at $30,186,742.58. This trade represents a 7.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,855 shares of company stock valued at $8,916,928. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on AJG shares. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $340.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.

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