Natixis Advisors LLC Has $133.57 Million Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., acquiring an additional 22,422 shares, bringing its total ownership to 386,879 shares valued at approximately $133.57 million.
• Insider selling activity was noted with Susan E. Pietrucha selling 13,500 shares and Scott R. Hudson selling 10,500 shares, reflecting significant decreases in their holdings.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported $3.67 EPS for the quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates, while revenue reached $3.69 billion, which was below expectations of $3.85 billion.

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 6.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 386,879 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 22,422 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.15% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $133,566,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Winslow Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth about $719,489,000. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,199,413 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,327,403,000 after acquiring an additional 1,910,471 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 162.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,822,319 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $801,115,000 after acquiring an additional 1,745,283 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1,511.2% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,758,166 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $499,055,000 after acquiring an additional 1,649,046 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 53,148.8% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,319,505 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $374,541,000 after buying an additional 1,317,027 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total value of $4,645,755.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 11,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,109,256.33. This trade represents a 53.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total transaction of $342,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 45,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,502,278.92. This trade represents a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,000 shares of company stock worth $8,528,080 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on AJG shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Piper Sandler upped 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $329.75.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of AJG traded down $3.19 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $284.06. The stock had a trading volume of 2,787,751 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,318,036. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $319.08 and a 200 day moving average of $322.67. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $274.25 and a 52 week high of $351.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $72.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.35 and a beta of 0.68.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by ($0.03). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 14.04% and a net margin of 14.54%. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.63%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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.