Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 14.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,242,088 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 409,145 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 1.26% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $702,182,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 21,412 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,734,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.9% during the first quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 1,146 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.9% during the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 55,764 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,077,000 after buying an additional 9,257 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 827.5% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 218,950 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $47,420,000 after acquiring an additional 195,344 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
AJG has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $242.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $250.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $280.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $261.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $276.53.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 3.1%
Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $260.95 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $217.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $225.65. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $190.75 and a 1 year high of $316.71. The company has a market capitalization of $67.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.50.
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 29.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.67 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.22 EPS for the current year.
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.31%.
Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $618,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 47,819 shares in the company, valued at $9,850,714. This trade represents a 5.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile
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Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
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