Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Acquired by LPL Financial LLC

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (AJG) by 23.5%, resulting in holdings of $77.81 million and 225,382 shares as per its latest SEC filing.
• Arthur J. Gallagher recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 0.91%.
• The company's latest earnings report showed $3.67 EPS for the quarter, outperforming analyst expectations, with revenues of $3.69 billion despite missing estimates of $3.85 billion.

LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 23.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 225,382 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 42,912 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.09% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $77,811,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,899 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,001,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Allen Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.1% in the first quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 1,603 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Allred Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Allred Capital Management LLC now owns 3,380 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $960,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. City Holding Co. grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.1% during the first quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 1,140 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $394,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 34.3% during the first quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 133 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.17, for a total transaction of $3,540,285.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 91,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,741,474.75. This represents a 10.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total transaction of $4,645,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 11,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,109,256.33. This trade represents a 53.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,528,080. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE AJG traded down $3.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $284.06. 2,787,751 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,318,036. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.35 and a beta of 0.68. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $274.25 and a 52-week high of $351.23. The company's 50-day moving average is $319.08 and its 200-day moving average is $322.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by ($0.03). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 14.04%. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given 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 currently 37.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on AJG shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $371.00 to $373.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $329.75.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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.