King Luther Capital Management Corp Acquires 7,718 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• King Luther Capital Management increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 7,718 shares and bringing its total holding to 196,064 shares worth about $50.7 million.
• Insider selling was reported by two vice presidents: Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares and Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares, while insiders now own 1.40% of the stock.
• AJG beat earnings estimates in its latest quarter, reporting EPS of $4.47 versus $4.43 expected, and the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share payable on June 19.

King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 196,064 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 7,718 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp owned 0.08% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $50,739,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter worth about $9,877,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,338,533 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,299,674,000 after purchasing an additional 3,330,205 shares during the last quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 65,889 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $20,398,000 after purchasing an additional 6,090 shares during the last quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 241.4% in the 3rd quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 49,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $15,332,000 after purchasing an additional 35,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cincinnati Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter worth about $42,824,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total transaction of $864,766.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 85,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,552,814.40. This represents a 4.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $908,480.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 19,306 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,384,778.72. The trade was a 17.16% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AJG shares. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $226.00 to $211.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered 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 report on Thursday, May 21st. UBS Group set a $240.00 price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Truist Financial lowered their price target on 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. Finally, Citigroup raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $280.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $264.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $204.21 on Wednesday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $190.75 and a fifty-two week high of $351.23. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $211.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $231.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $52.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.54.

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 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 analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.67 EPS. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s revenue was up 29.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

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

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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