Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Purchases 75,295 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 669.8% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 75,295 shares valued at approximately $29.9 million.
• Various institutional investors, including Vanguard and JPMorgan Chase, have also boosted their positions in Arthur J. Gallagher, with institutional ownership reaching 85.53%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on AJG, with a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $331.07, reflecting a diverse range of opinions on the stock's performance.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 669.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 86,536 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 75,295 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $29,876,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AJG. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter valued at about $262,000. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.8% during the first quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ now owns 82,423 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,456,000 after purchasing an additional 1,489 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 21.5% during the first quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 27,740 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,577,000 after purchasing an additional 4,914 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 83.0% during the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 23,476 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,105,000 after purchasing an additional 10,649 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.7% during the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 17,894 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,178,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $345.00 to $322.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on 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. Erste Group Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $333.13.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE AJG traded down $3.30 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $300.40. 1,282,348 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,539,422. The company has a market cap of $77.02 billion, a PE ratio of 42.67 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $274.25 and a one year high of $351.23. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $303.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $321.13. 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 earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.20 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is presently 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.