Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Raises Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 387.7%, owning 78,944 shares valued at approximately $27.25 million after acquiring an additional 62,758 shares in the first quarter.
• Despite reporting earnings of $2.33 per share for the last quarter, Arthur J. Gallagher missed analysts’ expectations by $0.03, with revenue reaching $3.18 billion, slightly below the anticipated $3.20 billion.
• Arthur J. Gallagher announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, payable on September 19th, which reflects a 0.9% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 36.93%.

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 387.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,944 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 62,758 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $27,255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth about $25,000. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Centennial Bank AR purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Motco increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 700.0% during the 1st 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. Finally, SouthState Corp purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on AJG shares. Erste Group Bank reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $317.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $331.07.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.4%

AJG stock opened at $299.86 on Wednesday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $274.25 and a one year high of $351.23. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $305.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $322.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.59 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly 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 year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s 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.

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