Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc. Raises Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc. increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 73.8%, owning 27,855 shares valued at approximately $8.9 million, making it the second largest position in their portfolio.
• Insider transactions revealed that VP Scott R. Hudson and CFO Douglas K. Howell sold a combined 20,855 shares of AJG stock recently, indicating a decrease in their ownership positions of 13.01% and 7.35%, respectively.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported a miss on earnings with an EPS of $2.33, falling short of the consensus estimate of $2.36, while their revenue grew by 16.0% year-over-year to $3.18 billion.

Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc. grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 73.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,855 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 11,825 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. accounts for approximately 0.2% of Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc.'s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $8,917,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth $25,000. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Centennial Bank AR acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total value of $3,825,648.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,569,792. This represents a 13.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total transaction of $2,396,320.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 100,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,186,742.58. This trade represents a 7.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,855 shares of company stock worth $8,916,928 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE AJG opened at $310.95 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $275.56 and a twelve month high of $351.23. The stock has a market cap of $79.73 billion, a PE ratio of 44.17 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $297.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $316.74. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.29 EPS. The company's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is currently 36.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AJG. UBS Group upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $369.00 to $365.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $344.00 price target for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective 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, September 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $328.80.

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.

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