Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Purchases Shares of 95,014 Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired 95,014 Arthur J. Gallagher shares in the second quarter, valued at approximately $21.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 85.53% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a favorable outlook, with 14 Buy ratings and five Holds; the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $290.28.
• Arthur J. Gallagher reported quarterly EPS of $2.84, exceeding estimates, while revenue rose 24.3% year over year to $3.95 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, equivalent to a 1.0% annual yield.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 95,014 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $21,812,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,825,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter worth about $3,429,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 5,947 shares in the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,919.2% in the second quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 19,987 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,398,000 after acquiring an additional 19,325 shares during the period. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter worth about $412,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AJG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Argus raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $267.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $261.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Mizuho increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $290.28.

Insider Activity 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 dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $618,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 47,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,850,714. This trade represents a 5.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.02, for a total value of $899,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 22,223 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,711,755.46. This trade represents a 13.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 18,500 shares of company stock worth $4,758,530. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $267.43 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.54 billion, a PE ratio of 44.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.50. The firm's 50-day moving average is $249.63 and its 200-day moving average is $225.78. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $190.75 and a 1 year high of $313.55.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 9.96% and a return on equity of 13.28%. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.33 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s revenue was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.28 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is 46.43%.

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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