Hsbc Holdings PLC Boosts Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.3%, acquiring an additional 37,787 shares, totaling 557,224 shares worth approximately $191.98 million.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported quarterly earnings of $2.33 per share, missing analysts' expectations, while revenue rose 16% year-over-year to $3.18 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.9%, to be paid on September 19th to shareholders of record.

Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 7.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 557,224 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 37,787 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.22% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $191,980,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AJG. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 205.4% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Centennial Bank AR purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,750.0% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on AJG. Barclays reduced their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $371.00 to $373.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $331.07.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE AJG opened at $300.75 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $77.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.72 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $307.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $322.54. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $274.25 and a twelve month high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.29 EPS. As a group, equities research 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 will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is 36.93%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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.

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