Morningstar Investment Management LLC Makes New $1.27 Million Investment in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Morningstar Investment Management LLC has made a new investment of approximately $1.27 million in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., acquiring 3,964 shares of the company.
• Several major hedge funds, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Vanguard Group Inc., have significantly increased their holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. recently, indicating strong institutional interest in the stock.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s shares have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by analysts, with a target price averaging $331.43.

Morningstar Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 3,964 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,269,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AJG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 38.3% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,372,745 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,997,767,000 after buying an additional 4,815,007 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,411,264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,499,185,000 after purchasing an additional 739,130 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth approximately $240,665,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3,142.2% in the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 640,911 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $221,268,000 after purchasing an additional 621,143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth approximately $136,565,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the vice president owned 85,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,569,792. This trade represents a 13.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total transaction of $2,396,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 100,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,186,742.58. This represents a 7.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 29,855 shares of company stock worth $8,916,928. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AJG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $317.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $340.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $331.43.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG opened at $298.06 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $76.42 billion, a PE ratio of 42.34 and a beta of 0.73. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $299.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $315.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.36. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $275.56 and a twelve month high of $351.23.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.36 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.29 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.

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