Nuveen LLC Takes $240.67 Million Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC purchased 697,095 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. for about $240.67 million, representing approximately 0.27% of the company's stock.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported a miss on earnings per share, with $2.33 against an estimate of $2.36, alongside a revenue of $3.18 billion, showing a 16% year-over-year increase.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, with an ex-dividend date on September 5th and an annualized yield of 0.9%.

Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 697,095 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $240,665,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 0.27% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 205.4% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Centennial Bank AR acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,750.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on AJG shares. 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 research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $371.00 to $373.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen cut Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $331.07.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $4,109,256.33. The trade was a 53.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.17, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE AJG traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $293.63. 334,912 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,544,672. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $274.25 and a 52-week high of $351.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.29 billion, a PE ratio of 41.71 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.36. The business's fifty day moving average price is $308.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $322.39.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.36 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

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

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.