Busey Bank Grows Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Busey Bank increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.0%, acquiring an additional 870 shares, bringing its total holdings to 44,708 shares valued at approximately $14.31 million.
• Insider selling was reported, with VP Scott R. Hudson selling 12,855 shares, while CFO Douglas K. Howell also sold 3,000 shares, indicating a decrease in their respective ownership percentages.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of "Hold" among analysts, with a target price of $330.93, despite a recent quarterly earnings report that missed estimates.

Busey Bank increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,708 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 870 shares during the period. Busey Bank's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $14,312,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth $34,000. Centennial Bank AR bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,750.0% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the 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 directly owned 85,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,569,792. This represents a 13.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.78, for a total value of $899,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 114,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,407,849.06. The trade was a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on AJG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $288.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $344.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $369.00 to $365.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $330.93.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE AJG traded up $3.16 on Friday, reaching $299.90. 2,605,274 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,373,650. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $274.25 and a one year high of $351.23. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $298.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $318.01. The firm has a market capitalization 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 posted 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 return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%.The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.93%.

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.