Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Has $225.82 Million Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.5%, owning a total of 654,088 shares valued at approximately $225.8 million.
• Analysts have mixed sentiments about the stock, with varying target prices; Wells Fargo raised its target to $373.00, while Barclays lowered it to $327.00.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65, which will be paid on September 19th, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 0.9%.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 14.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 654,088 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 83,069 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. makes up 0.8% of Lord Abbett & CO. LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned approximately 0.26% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $225,817,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,411,264 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,499,185,000 after purchasing an additional 739,130 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 38.3% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,372,745 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,997,767,000 after purchasing an additional 4,815,007 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 10,067,647 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,857,737,000 after purchasing an additional 305,876 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,199,413 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,327,403,000 after buying an additional 1,910,471 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,957,633 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $839,524,000 after buying an additional 260,533 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.17, for a total value of $3,540,285.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 91,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,741,474.75. The trade was a 10.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:AJG traded up $1.94 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $294.66. 1,358,039 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,545,689. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.86 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.36. The business's 50-day moving average price is $308.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $322.75. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $274.25 and a 12 month high of $351.23.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AJG shares. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $345.00 to $322.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $371.00 to $373.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $331.07.

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.