Empowered Funds LLC Has $3.62 Million Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 15%, owning 10,494 shares valued at approximately $3.62 million as per its latest SEC filing.
• Corporate insiders, including VP Scott R. Hudson and CFO Douglas K. Howell, recently sold shares worth over $4.72 million, reducing their ownership in the company.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.9%, to be paid on September 19th.

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 15.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,494 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,365 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $3,623,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 22.5% during the 1st quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $388,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth about $382,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,750.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,280 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,879,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Seven Grand Managers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $7,096,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 85,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,569,792. This represents a 13.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were 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 directly owned 114,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,407,849.06. The trade was a 2.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AJG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $344.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $345.00 to $322.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $333.13.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of AJG traded up $2.10 on Tuesday, hitting $291.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,175,641 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,528,123. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $274.25 and a fifty-two week high of $351.23. 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 firm's fifty day moving average price is $300.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $319.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.41 and a beta of 0.72.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by ($0.03). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%.The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for 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% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research 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 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%.

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.