Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Sells 213,464 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Nomura Asset Management cut its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 54.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 213,464 shares and leaving it with 175,016 shares worth about $45.3 million.
• Arthur J. Gallagher reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $4.47 per share, while revenue came in slightly below estimates at $4.71 billion. Revenue still rose 29% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, payable June 19, for an annualized dividend of $2.80 and a yield of about 1.4%.

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. trimmed its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 54.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 175,016 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 213,464 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.07% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $45,292,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,925,062,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,338,533 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,299,674,000 after acquiring an additional 3,330,205 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9,244.9% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,053,636 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $272,670,000 after acquiring an additional 1,042,361 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,107,390 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $962,483,000 after acquiring an additional 725,555 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 26.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,866,786 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $887,976,000 after acquiring an additional 593,483 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

AJG opened at $201.23 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $211.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $230.80. The company has a market capitalization of $51.70 billion, a PE ratio of 32.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.53. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $190.75 and a 1 year high of $351.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 10.76%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 29.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.67 EPS. Research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.26 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is currently 45.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $908,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 19,306 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,384,778.72. The trade was a 17.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total value of $864,766.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,552,814.40. This represents a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on AJG shares. UBS Group set a $240.00 target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $226.00 to $211.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $280.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $262.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Eleven 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 presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $264.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

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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