First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Increases Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 39.5% during the second quarter, bringing its total ownership to 41,069 shares valued at $13.14 million.
• Analysts have a generally positive outlook on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., with one analyst rating it as a Strong Buy, while the average price target is set at $331.43.
• The company recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $2.60 and a yield of 0.9%.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 39.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 41,069 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 11,622 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $13,147,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,899 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,001,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.8% in the first quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 3,812 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,289,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Allen Capital Group LLC raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.1% during the first quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 1,603 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,542 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $494,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,746 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $948,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AJG shares. Citigroup assumed coverage on 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. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $340.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $331.43.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.4%

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $282.98 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.20 and a beta of 0.73. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $275.56 and a fifty-two week high of $351.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock's fifty day moving average is $298.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $312.92.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.36 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is presently 36.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.

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