Prospector Partners LLC Sells 41,844 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Prospector Partners LLC sharply cut its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., selling 41,844 shares in the fourth quarter and leaving it with 3,120 shares worth about $807,000. The position was reduced by 93.1%.
• AJG posted solid quarterly results, reporting earnings of $4.47 per share, slightly ahead of estimates, while revenue rose 29% year over year to $4.71 billion. Analysts currently expect full-year EPS of 13.27.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, payable on June 19, implying an annualized payout of $2.80 and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The payout ratio stands at 45.31%.

Prospector Partners LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 93.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,120 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 41,844 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. makes up about 1.7% of Prospector Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Prospector Partners LLC's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $807,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,825,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,429,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 118,467 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,924,000 after buying an additional 5,947 shares in the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,919.2% in the 2nd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 19,987 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,398,000 after buying an additional 19,325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter valued at $412,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $218.53 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $210.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $227.92. The company has a market cap of $56.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.36, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $190.75 and a fifty-two week high of $327.34.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 10.76%.The company's revenue was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.67 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $618,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 47,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,850,714. The trade was a 5.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $226.00 to $211.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price target for the company from $283.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $240.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Barclays boosted 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $275.00 to $278.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $263.71.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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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