Park Avenue Securities LLC Acquires Shares of 34,396 Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Park Avenue Securities LLC has acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE: AJG), purchasing 34,396 shares valued at approximately $11 million during the second quarter.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.33, slightly missing the consensus estimate, while the company’s revenue was $3.18 billion, a 16% increase compared to the same quarter last year.
• The firm has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, representing a 0.9% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 36.93%.

Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 34,396 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $11,011,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% in the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,899 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,001,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.8% during the first quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 3,812 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,289,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.1% in the first quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 1,603 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. City Holding Co. lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.1% during the first quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 1,140 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 34.3% in the first quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 133 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total value of $3,825,648.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,569,792. The trade was a 13.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 3,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.78, for a total transaction of $899,340.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 114,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,407,849.06. This represents a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:AJG traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $300.07. 1,446,936 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,373,650. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $275.56 and a 12 month high of $351.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $298.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $317.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.62 and a beta of 0.72.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%.The business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on AJG. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays dropped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $344.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $288.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $330.93.

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.