Erste Asset Management GmbH Trims Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Erste Asset Management GmbH reduced its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 15.2% in Q1, bringing its total holdings to 27,139 shares valued at approximately $9.25 million.
• Several institutional investors, including HWG Holdings LP and Centennial Bank AR, entered new positions in the company during the same quarter, increasing overall institutional ownership to 85.53%.
• Analysts have set a new average price target for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. at $331.07, with various ratings including one Strong Buy, five Buy, and nine Hold recommendations.

Erste Asset Management GmbH lowered its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 15.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,139 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,861 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $9,250,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 22.5% during the first quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $388,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth $382,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,750.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,280 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,879,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, Seven Grand Managers LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth $7,096,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG traded down $2.5550 on Friday, hitting $302.8250. The company had a trading volume of 1,165,433 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,790,757. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $274.25 and a 52-week high of $351.23. The business has a 50 day moving average of $306.50 and a 200 day moving average of $322.35. The company has a market cap of $77.64 billion, a PE ratio of 43.01 and a beta of 0.68.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (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 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 company earned $2.29 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AJG. Wall Street Zen lowered Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $371.00 to $373.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $331.07.

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.