Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Buys 1,042,361 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. dramatically increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter, buying over 1.04 million additional shares and lifting its holdings to 1,053,636 shares valued at about $272.7 million.
• Several insiders sold shares recently, including Vice Presidents Scott R. Hudson and Christopher E. Mead, though insiders still own only about 1.40% of the company.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. beat EPS expectations in its latest quarterly report, and the company also announced a $0.70 quarterly dividend payable June 19, implying an annualized yield of about 1.4%.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 9,244.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,053,636 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,042,361 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned 0.41% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $272,670,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AJG. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% in 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 last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the third quarter worth $39,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position in 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 worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its position in 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 worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total transaction of $864,766.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,552,814.40. The trade was a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 19,306 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,384,778.72. This represents a 17.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AJG shares. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $259.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley set a $265.00 price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $283.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $268.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of AJG opened at $199.81 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.54. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $190.75 and a 12-month high of $351.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $213.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $234.54.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The business's revenue was up 29.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.67 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

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

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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