MUFG Securities EMEA plc Acquires 5,615 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• MUFG Securities EMEA plc more than doubled its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter, buying 5,615 additional shares and lifting its total holdings to 10,522 shares valued at about $2.7 million.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. beat earnings expectations in its latest quarter, reporting EPS of $4.47 versus the $4.43 consensus, while revenue rose 29% year over year to $4.71 billion.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, payable on June 19, and Wall Street currently has a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $264.

MUFG Securities EMEA plc grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 114.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,522 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,615 shares during the quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $2,723,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 870.0% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% during the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 100.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 136 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 668.2% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $205.98 on Tuesday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $190.75 and a 1 year high of $351.23. The firm has a market cap of $52.92 billion, a PE ratio of 33.33, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $211.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $230.45.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.04. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The business had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.67 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s revenue for the quarter was up 29.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.26 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, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.31%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $908,480.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 19,306 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,384,778.72. This trade represents a 17.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total transaction of $864,766.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at $19,552,814.40. This trade represents a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on AJG. UBS Group set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $259.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $235.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $226.00 to $211.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $264.00.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.

The company's core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.

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