Dearborn Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Dearborn Partners initiated a roughly $26.6 million position in Arthur J. Gallagher, while institutional investors collectively own 85.53% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $290.28; recent targets range up to $300.
• Gallagher exceeded quarterly EPS estimates, reporting $2.84 versus $2.81 expected, while revenue rose 24.3% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, yielding approximately 1.1%.

Dearborn Partners LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 115,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $26,584,000. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. makes up approximately 1.2% of Dearborn Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,613,371 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,264,359,000 after buying an additional 830,252 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,953,598 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,834,682,000 after acquiring an additional 62,518 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,925,062,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 123.5% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,887,538 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,523,636,000 after acquiring an additional 3,253,498 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,242,088 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $702,182,000 after purchasing an additional 409,145 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on AJG. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. UBS Group raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $291.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $299.00 to $296.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $290.28.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.08, for a total transaction of $3,240,960.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 71,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,254,543.36. This represents a 14.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.02, for a total transaction of $899,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 22,223 shares in the company, valued at $5,711,755.46. This trade represents a 13.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 18,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,758,530. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of AJG opened at $259.78 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $248.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $225.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.08, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.50. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $190.75 and a 52 week high of $313.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.28% and a net margin of 9.96%.The company had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.33 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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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