Fisher Funds Management LTD Increases Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Fisher Funds Management boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 50.3% in Q1, buying 69,379 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 207,219 shares worth about $44.9 million.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported better-than-expected earnings for the latest quarter, with EPS of $4.47 versus estimates of $4.43, while revenue rose 29% year over year to $4.71 billion.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, and analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $264.12.

Fisher Funds Management LTD increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 50.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 207,219 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 69,379 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. accounts for about 1.3% of Fisher Funds Management LTD's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Fisher Funds Management LTD owned about 0.08% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $44,879,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Prosperity Bancshares Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 0.2%

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $214.45 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $55.09 billion, a PE ratio of 34.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.53. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $190.75 and a 12 month high of $327.34. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $210.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $226.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.04. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.67 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 29.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.31%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $618,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 47,819 shares in the company, valued at $9,850,714. The trade was a 5.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $226.00 to $211.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $266.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $275.00 to $278.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $235.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $264.12.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.

The company's core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.

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