SEB Asset Management AB Acquires New Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• SEB Asset Management AB opened a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter, buying 55,595 shares worth about $12.0 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive overall: several firms raised or adjusted targets, and the stock currently carries a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $280.35.
• Arthur J. Gallagher reported Q1 EPS of $4.47, slightly above estimates, while revenue rose 29% year over year to $4.71 billion; the company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share.

SEB Asset Management AB bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 55,595 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $12,041,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter valued at $2,825,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter worth about $3,429,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 5,947 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,919.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 19,325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter valued at approximately $412,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on AJG. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $275.00 to $278.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $261.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $242.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $280.35.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $253.77 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $190.75 and a 12 month high of $315.48. The company has a market capitalization of $65.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.06, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.50. The firm's 50-day moving average is $222.45 and its 200 day moving average is $225.35.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.04. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 10.76%.The business had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.67 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.22 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is 45.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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