National Pension Service Has $174.04 Million Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Key Points

• National Pension Service increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.1%, owning 504,103 shares worth approximately $174 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Insiders at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. have sold 25,000 shares totaling around $8.5 million in value over the past three months.
• The company plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, equating to an annualized yield of 0.9%.

National Pension Service grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 13.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 504,103 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 58,382 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned about 0.20% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $174,037,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Centennial Bank AR acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. Motco lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 700.0% during the 1st quarter. Motco now owns 112 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. SouthState Corp acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 205.4% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.17, for a total transaction of $3,540,285.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 91,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,741,474.75. This represents a 10.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total value of $342,040.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 45,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,502,278.92. The trade was a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,528,080. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $295.23 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $75.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.94 and a beta of 0.68. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $309.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $322.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.36. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $274.25 and a fifty-two week high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced 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). The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The business's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.29 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Erste Group Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $317.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted 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, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $331.07.

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.

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