Royal Bank of Canada Trims Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada has reduced its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9.8%, now owning approximately 585,933 shares worth $202.29 million as per its latest SEC filing.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. significantly increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher by 38.3%, now owning over 17 million shares valued at $5.99 billion, illustrating a trend of hedge funds modifying their positions.
• Arthur J. Gallagher recently reported quarterly earnings per share of $2.33, falling short of estimates, while also declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.65, contributing to an annual yield of 0.9%.

Royal Bank of Canada lessened its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 9.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 585,933 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 63,318 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.23% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $202,287,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Beck Mack & Oliver LLC now owns 782,909 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $270,292,000 after purchasing an additional 11,583 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.9% during the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 4,927 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,701,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Brasada Capital Management LP raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.3% in the first quarter. Brasada Capital Management LP now owns 12,436 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,293,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 110.3% in the first quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 7,332 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,531,000 after acquiring an additional 3,845 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Erste Group Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $344.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $333.13.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG traded down $1.21 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $299.01. 1,217,177 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,333,918. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The business's fifty day moving average is $302.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $320.80. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $274.25 and a one year high of $351.23. The stock has a market cap of $76.67 billion, a PE ratio of 42.47 and a beta of 0.72.

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). The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%.Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

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

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.