Teacher Retirement System of Texas Grows Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 16.7% in Q4, holding 46,123 shares after buying an additional 6,602 shares, worth about $11.94 million per its latest 13F filing.
• Two company VPs sold shares in early March—Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares and Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares at roughly $227 each—leaving insiders with 1.40% ownership of the stock.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed-leaning-positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target of $273.94, while the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.70 (annualized $2.80, ~1.3% yield).

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 16.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,123 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,602 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $11,936,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the third quarter worth about $9,877,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,338,533 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,299,674,000 after buying an additional 3,330,205 shares in the last quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 10.2% in the third quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 65,889 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $20,398,000 after buying an additional 6,090 shares in the last quarter. Cincinnati Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the third quarter worth about $42,824,000. Finally, Factory Mutual Insurance Co. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 241.4% in the third quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 49,500 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $15,332,000 after purchasing an additional 35,000 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $908,480.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 19,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,384,778.72. This trade represents a 17.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total value of $864,766.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,552,814.40. The trade was a 4.24% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on AJG. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $235.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $292.00 price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $266.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $273.94.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $215.42 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $195.00 and a one year high of $351.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $217.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $242.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.03, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.68.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 12.13%. The business had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.61 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 33.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.53%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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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