Eventide Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Eventide Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.7%, acquiring an additional 11,199 shares, bringing their total to 209,149 shares.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported a miss on earnings with $2.33 EPS compared to the expected $2.36 EPS, while revenue reached $3.18 billion, below the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion.
• The company has declared a $0.65 quarterly dividend, set to be paid on September 19th, representing an annual yield of 0.9% and a dividend payout ratio of 36.93%.

Eventide Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 5.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 209,149 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 11,199 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. comprises about 1.4% of Eventide Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Eventide Asset Management LLC owned about 0.08% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $72,178,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,411,264 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,499,185,000 after purchasing an additional 739,130 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 38.3% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,372,745 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,997,767,000 after purchasing an additional 4,815,007 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,959,673 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,021,798,000 after purchasing an additional 137,354 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,364,759 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $816,409,000 after purchasing an additional 9,458 shares during the period. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,336,591 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $796,217,000 after purchasing an additional 7,594 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $299.32. 1,153,117 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,535,253. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $274.25 and a 1 year high of $351.23. The company has a market capitalization of $76.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.52 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a fifty day moving average of $302.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $320.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its 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 return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%.The business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.29 EPS. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 is currently 36.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AJG shares. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $317.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of 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 upped their price objective on shares of 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, six have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $333.13.

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.