KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Acquires 4,700 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.5% in Q2, acquiring an additional 4,700 shares, bringing its total holdings to 90,410 shares valued at approximately $28.9 million.
• The stock has received mixed ratings from analysts, with one strong buy, seven buy, eight hold, and one sell ratings, and a consensus target price of $328.80.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported Q2 earnings of $2.33 per share, which missed expectations, alongside a quarterly revenue of $3.18 billion, reflecting a 16% year-over-year increase.

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,410 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,700 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $28,942,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Centennial Bank AR bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Motco boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 700.0% during the 1st quarter. Motco now owns 112 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on AJG. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $369.00 to $365.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Citigroup began coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $317.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $328.80.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG opened at $309.43 on Wednesday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $275.56 and a 12 month high of $351.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $298.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $316.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market cap of $79.34 billion, a PE ratio of 43.95 and a beta of 0.73.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.36 by ($0.03). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total value of $3,825,648.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at $25,569,792. This trade represents a 13.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total value of $2,396,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 100,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,186,742.58. This trade represents a 7.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,855 shares of company stock valued at $8,916,928 in the last 90 days. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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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