Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Sold by Cooper Investors PTY Ltd.

Key Points

• Cooper Investors PTY Ltd. reduced its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 32.4%, now owning approximately $10.85 million worth of shares, ranking it as the fund's 18th largest holding.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. significantly increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 38.3%, while institutional investors collectively own 85.53% of the company's stock.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported a quarterly revenue of $3.18 billion, missing estimates slightly, and also declared a dividend of $0.65 per share to be paid on September 19th.

Cooper Investors PTY Ltd. decreased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 32.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,884 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 16,227 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. makes up 2.0% of Cooper Investors PTY Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Cooper Investors PTY Ltd.'s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $10,847,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AJG. Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth about $382,000. Waverly Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $517,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 69.9% in the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 1,286 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $365,000 after purchasing an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 601,954 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $170,865,000 after purchasing an additional 22,505 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 1.1%

AJG traded up $3.16 during trading on Friday, hitting $299.90. 2,605,274 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,301,658. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $298.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $318.01. The firm has a market cap of $76.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.60 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $274.25 and a 1 year high of $351.23. 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 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). 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.29 earnings per share. The company's revenue 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 year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $288.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $369.00 to $365.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Erste Group Bank reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $344.00 price target for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $330.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.78, for a total value of $899,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 114,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,407,849.06. This trade represents a 2.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at $25,569,792. The trade was a 13.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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.