Shell Asset Management Co. Grows Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Shell Asset Management Co. increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 27.9% during the second quarter, owning 6,734 shares valued at approximately $2.16 million.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported $2.33 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing the consensus estimate by 3 cents, while revenue rose 16% year-over-year to $3.18 billion.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65, with an annualized total of $2.60 and a yield of 0.8%, reflecting a payout ratio of 36.93%.

Shell Asset Management Co. raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 27.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,734 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,470 shares during the quarter. Shell Asset Management Co.'s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $2,156,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AJG. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,899 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,001,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.8% during the first quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 3,812 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,289,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.1% during the first quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 1,603 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $553,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 34.3% during the first quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 133 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.3% in the second quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,542 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $494,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE:AJG opened at $306.99 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $298.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $316.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.61 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.36. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $275.56 and a 1 year high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.36 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.20 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%.The company's revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AJG. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $340.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $344.00 price objective on the stock. Erste Group Bank reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $288.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $328.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total value of $3,825,648.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at $25,569,792. This trade represents a 13.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total value of $2,396,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 100,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,186,742.58. This represents a 7.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,855 shares of company stock valued at $8,916,928. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.