Swiss National Bank Increases Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.3% in the first quarter, holding 753,660 shares worth about $163.2 million.
• Several analysts turned more constructive on AJG, with recent price targets raised by firms including Piper Sandler, Wells Fargo, Cantor Fitzgerald, and RBC; the stock now carries a Moderate Buy consensus.
• Arthur J. Gallagher reported quarterly EPS of $4.47, topping estimates, while revenue rose 29% year over year; the company also paid a $0.70 quarterly dividend, or $2.80 annualized.

Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 7.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 753,660 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 51,040 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.29% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $163,228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,390,446 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,123,534,000 after buying an additional 217,136 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,613,371 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,264,359,000 after acquiring an additional 830,252 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,953,598 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,834,682,000 after purchasing an additional 62,518 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth about $1,925,062,000. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 123.5% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,887,538 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,523,636,000 after purchasing an additional 3,253,498 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AJG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $276.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $280.35.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of AJG stock opened at $254.36 on Monday. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $221.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $225.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $190.75 and a 1-year high of $316.71. The firm has a market cap of $65.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.16, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.50.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.31%.

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

In related 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 value 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

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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