California State Teachers Retirement System Has $19.78 Billion Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System dramatically increased its Arthur J. Gallagher stake by 23,248% in the second quarter, ending with 86.17 million shares valued at $19.78 billion, or 33.62% of the company.
• Arthur J. Gallagher reported quarterly EPS of $2.84, exceeding estimates by $0.03, while revenue rose 24.3% year over year to $3.95 billion. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $290.28.
• Insiders sold 27,500 shares worth approximately $7.31 million over the past 90 days, while the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, representing a 1.1% annualized yield.

California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 23,248.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 86,171,395 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 85,802,321 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 33.62% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $19,782,367,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dearborn Partners LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 133,936 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,661,000 after purchasing an additional 7,946 shares in the last quarter. Gtcr LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter valued at about $514,112,000. SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,371,000. Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth about $5,848,000. Finally, Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC now owns 95,470 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $24,707,000 after acquiring an additional 7,025 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, VP Scott Hudson sold 12,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.13, for a total transaction of $3,169,560.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 90,262 shares in the company, valued at $23,840,902.06. The trade was a 11.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Walter Bay sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.08, for a total transaction of $3,240,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 71,292 shares in the company, valued at $19,254,543.36. This trade represents a 14.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 27,500 shares of company stock worth $7,310,090 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $262.24 on Tuesday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $190.75 and a 52 week high of $313.55. The company's 50 day moving average price is $254.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $228.13. The stock has a market cap of $67.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.28% and a net margin of 9.96%.Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s quarterly revenue was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Mizuho lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $235.00 to $265.00 in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $290.28.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.

The company's core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.

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