Renaissance Investment Group LLC Grows Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Key Points

• Renaissance Investment Group LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.0%, now holding 36,619 shares worth approximately $12.64 million, making it the fund's 11th largest holding.
• Insider transactions included Director David S. Johnson selling 1,000 shares for $342,040, and VP Scott R. Hudson selling 10,500 shares for approximately $3.54 million, indicating notable insider activity.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a current consensus target price of $322.31 with a "Hold" rating from analysts, while the company reported earnings of $3.67 per share in its last quarter, exceeding estimates.

Renaissance Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 5.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,619 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,755 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. accounts for approximately 3.1% of Renaissance Investment Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Renaissance Investment Group LLC's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $12,642,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. TCTC Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 16.7% during the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 328 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 116.4% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 145 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 26.9% in the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,538 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,567,000 after acquiring an additional 962 shares in the last quarter. Clarendon Private LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 35.7% in the first quarter. Clarendon Private LLC now owns 2,267 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $783,000 after acquiring an additional 597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marvin & Palmer Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at about $3,130,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on AJG. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $371.00 to $373.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $329.75.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

NYSE AJG traded down $4.88 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $282.38. The stock had a trading volume of 1,727,399 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,538,432. The firm's 50 day moving average is $319.08 and its 200 day moving average is $322.67. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $274.25 and a twelve month high of $351.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.83 and a beta of 0.71.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.36 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.39% and a return on equity of 14.83%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.29 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share 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, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued 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 presently 37.63%.

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

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total value of $4,645,755.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 11,941 shares in the company, valued at $4,109,256.33. This represents a 53.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total value of $342,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 45,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,502,278.92. The trade was a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,000 shares of company stock worth $8,528,080 in the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

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.