Citigroup Inc. Increases Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Key Points

• Citigroup Inc. has significantly increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 83.0% in Q1, owning approximately $92.59 million worth of shares after purchasing an additional 121,603 shares.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported a miss on earnings per share for the last quarter, with EPS of $2.33 compared to the consensus estimate of $2.36.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.9% and a payout ratio of 36.93%.

Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 83.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 268,192 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 121,603 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned 0.10% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $92,591,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AJG. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 22.5% in the 1st quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $388,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $382,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,750.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,280 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,879,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, Seven Grand Managers LLC purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $7,096,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.6%

AJG traded up $4.58 on Wednesday, reaching $295.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,337,774 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,554,283. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $310.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $322.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market capitalization of $75.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.94 and a beta of 0.68. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $274.25 and a fifty-two week high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.93%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total value of $342,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 45,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,502,278.92. This represents a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.17, for a total value of $3,540,285.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 91,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,741,474.75. The trade was a 10.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,528,080. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on AJG shares. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $317.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday. They set an "overweight" rating and a $370.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted 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 note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $345.00 to $322.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $331.07.

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.