Forsta AP Fonden Reduces Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden cut its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 21.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 14,940 shares and leaving it with 53,760 shares valued at about $13.9 million.
• Several large institutional investors remain heavily invested in AJG, including Vanguard, JPMorgan Chase, Capital World Investors, State Street, and Norges Bank; institutions own 85.53% of the company.
• The company posted better-than-expected quarterly EPS of $4.47 and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with a consensus price target of $264.

Forsta AP Fonden decreased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 21.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,760 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 14,940 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $13,913,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,390,446 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,123,534,000 after acquiring an additional 217,136 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,338,533 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,299,674,000 after acquiring an additional 3,330,205 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.9% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,783,119 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,649,477,000 after acquiring an additional 101,298 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.4% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,891,080 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,373,403,000 after acquiring an additional 147,587 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth $1,925,062,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $908,480.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 19,306 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,384,778.72. This represents a 17.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total value of $864,766.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,552,814.40. This represents a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AJG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $240.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded 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 report on Tuesday, March 24th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $264.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

AJG opened at $201.23 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $211.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $230.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market cap of $51.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.54. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $190.75 and a 12-month high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.04. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 10.76%.The business had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.67 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.31%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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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