Prudential PLC Acquires 4,773 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Prudential PLC increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 107.2% in Q1, now owning 9,224 shares valued at approximately $3.18 million.
• Insider sales have occurred with VP Scott R. Hudson selling 10,500 shares for about $3.54 million, reducing his ownership by 10.33%.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65, with the ex-dividend date set for September 5th, representing an annual yield of 0.9%.

Prudential PLC increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 107.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,224 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,773 shares during the period. Prudential PLC's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $3,184,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AJG. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 17,799 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,047,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,443 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $693,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Mariner LLC lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 60,407 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $17,147,000 after buying an additional 3,636 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 2,015 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $572,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

NYSE:AJG traded up $2.7850 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $297.2950. 244,640 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,540,993. The business has a 50 day moving average of $307.55 and a 200 day moving average of $322.69. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $274.25 and a 1-year high of $351.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The company has a market capitalization of $76.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.22 and a beta of 0.68.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.17, for a total transaction of $3,540,285.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 91,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,741,474.75. This represents a 10.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AJG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $371.00 to $373.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $331.07.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.