Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Acquires 1,457 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its ownership of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. shares by 11.0%, acquiring an additional 1,457 shares for a total of 14,693 shares valued at $5,073,000.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported $2.33 earnings per share for the most recent quarter, missing analysts' expectations, but showing a year-over-year revenue increase of 16.0%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, set to be paid on September 19th, representing a yield of 0.9% based on its current share price.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 11.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,693 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,457 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $5,073,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,411,264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,499,185,000 after acquiring an additional 739,130 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 38.3% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,372,745 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,997,767,000 after acquiring an additional 4,815,007 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,959,673 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,021,798,000 after purchasing an additional 137,354 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,957,633 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $839,524,000 after purchasing an additional 260,533 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,364,759 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $816,409,000 after purchasing an additional 9,458 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 0.4%

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $298.98 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $274.25 and a 12-month high of $351.23. The firm's fifty day moving average is $305.46 and its 200 day moving average is $321.89. The company has a market capitalization of $76.66 billion, a PE ratio of 42.47 and a beta of 0.68.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by ($0.03). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $371.00 to $373.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $345.00 to $322.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $331.07.

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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