MBB Public Markets I LLC Acquires New Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired 957 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. valued at approximately $330,000, reflecting growing institutional interest in the company.
• Arthur J. Gallagher reported Q2 earnings of $2.33 per share, slightly missing analyst expectations, with revenue rising 16.0% year-over-year to $3.18 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, indicating a payout ratio of 36.93% and a dividend yield of 0.9%.

MBB Public Markets I LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 957 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $330,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,899 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,001,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 3,812 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,289,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 1,603 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $553,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. City Holding Co. raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 1,140 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 34.3% during the 1st quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 133 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were 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 directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.78, for a total transaction of $899,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 114,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,407,849.06. The trade was a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on AJG. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target 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. Piper Sandler upped 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 report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $344.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $333.13.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 1.1%

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded down $3.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $297.27. 1,302,078 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,310,043. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $300.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $319.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.23 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $274.25 and a 52-week high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.36 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%.The firm's revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.29 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.93%.

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.