Callan Family Office LLC Boosts Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Callan Family Office LLC increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 84% during the 2nd quarter, owning 19,603 shares worth approximately $6.28 million.
• Wall Street analysts have a moderate buy consensus for the stock, with a price target averaging $331.43, and varying ratings from strong buy to hold.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $2.60 and a yield of 0.9%.

Callan Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 84.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,603 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,947 shares during the quarter. Callan Family Office LLC's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $6,275,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AJG. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth $25,000. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Centennial Bank AR bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in 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 valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $344.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $317.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $331.43.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $301.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company has a market cap of $77.37 billion, a PE ratio of 42.86 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $299.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $315.78. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $275.56 and a fifty-two week high of $351.23.

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 return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%.The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.29 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities 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 was paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were given 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 (DPR) is currently 36.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at $25,569,792. The trade was a 13.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total value 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 represents a 7.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,855 shares of company stock valued at $8,916,928 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

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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