Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Trims Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Key Points

• The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.1%, owning 11,493 shares valued at approximately $3.97 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, which is set to be paid on September 19, contributing to an annualized dividend of $2.60.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. recently reported quarterly earnings of $2.33 per share, missing analysts' expectations of $2.36, while revenue increased by 16% year-over-year.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 13.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,493 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,735 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $3,968,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Centennial Bank AR purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth about $38,000. Motco boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 700.0% in the first quarter. Motco now owns 112 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 205.4% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.3%

AJG opened at $289.91 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $274.25 and a fifty-two week high of $351.23. The business has a 50-day moving average of $314.73 and a 200-day moving average of $322.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The company has a market capitalization of $74.33 billion, a PE ratio of 41.18 and a beta of 0.68.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). 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 analysts' expectations of $3.20 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.29 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on AJG shares. UBS Group reduced their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $345.00 to $322.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on 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. Barclays lowered their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $329.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 91,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total value of $342,040.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 45,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,502,278.92. This represents a 2.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,528,080 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.