Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 35,738 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its Arthur J. Gallagher stake by 8.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 35,738 shares and leaving it with 390,311 shares valued at about $101.0 million.
• Arthur J. Gallagher shares were up 1.5% to $220.25, and the company reported quarterly EPS of $4.47, slightly beating estimates, while revenue rose 29% year over year to $4.71 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, and analysts currently hold a Moderate Buy consensus with a target price of $264.59.

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 8.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 390,311 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 35,738 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $101,009,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% in 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 period. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 668.2% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 84.8% in the 4th quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 183 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $220.25 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $56.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.52. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $190.75 and a 1 year high of $327.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $210.83 and a 200 day moving average of $228.34.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.73 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.67 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AJG. Truist Financial lowered their price target 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. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $259.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $266.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $235.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $264.59.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were 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 directly owned 47,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,850,714. The trade was a 5.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

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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