Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Grows Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 40.9%, purchasing 44,824 additional shares to hold 154,404 shares worth about $39.97 million (roughly 0.06% ownership).
• Arthur J. Gallagher reported Q4 earnings of $2.38 EPS, beating estimates of $2.35, while revenue rose 33.9% year‑over‑year to $3.57 billion but slightly missed the $3.61 billion consensus.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share (annualized $2.80, yield 1.3%, ex‑dividend June 5), and analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with a $273.94 price target.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 40.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 154,404 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 44,824 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.06% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $39,965,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. CX Institutional boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.1% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $552,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,930 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $908,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,958 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,226,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,064 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $949,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, AMG National Trust Bank grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 1,616 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $501,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG stock opened at $211.51 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $54.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.39, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.68. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $195.00 and a 52-week high of $351.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company's 50 day moving average is $217.48 and its 200 day moving average is $240.61.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.13% and a net margin of 11.84%.The company had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s revenue was up 33.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.53%.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total value of $864,766.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at $19,552,814.40. The trade was a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $4,384,778.72. The trade was 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 owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AJG. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $292.00 price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 2nd. BMO Capital Markets raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $275.00 to $278.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $246.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Barclays raised 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $273.94.

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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