Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Has $8.95 Million Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.7%, holding 27,960 shares worth approximately $8.95 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported earnings of $2.33 EPS for the most recent quarter, falling short of analyst estimates by $0.03, but experienced a 16% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, with a current annualized dividend yield of 0.9% and a payout ratio of 36.93%.

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,960 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 3,590 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $8,951,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AJG. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Centennial Bank AR bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,750.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:AJG opened at $301.75 on Monday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $299.11 and its 200-day moving average is $315.45. 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 52 week low of $275.56 and a 52 week high of $351.23. The firm has a market cap of $77.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.86 and a beta of 0.73.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total transaction of $2,396,320.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 100,777 shares in the company, valued at $30,186,742.58. The trade was a 7.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total transaction of $3,825,648.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at $25,569,792. The trade was a 13.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,855 shares of company stock worth $8,916,928 in the last quarter. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $365.00 to $366.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $288.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $331.43.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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.

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