VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Makes New Investment in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems purchased 15,626 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth approximately $3.59 million during the second quarter. Institutional investors now own 85.53% of the company.
• Analysts raised their price targets, with the consensus rating at “Moderate Buy” and an average target of $290.28. UBS, Morgan Stanley and Argus issued or maintained bullish ratings.
• Gallagher reported quarterly EPS of $2.84, exceeding estimates of $2.81, while revenue rose 24.3% year over year to $3.95 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, representing a 1.1% yield.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 15,626 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,587,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth about $2,825,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,429,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.3% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 118,467 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,924,000 after purchasing an additional 5,947 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,919.2% in the second quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 19,987 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,398,000 after buying an additional 19,325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth approximately $412,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on AJG. UBS Group boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $291.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $261.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Argus upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $267.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $290.28.

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

In other news, General Counsel Walter Bay sold 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.08, for a total transaction of $3,240,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 71,292 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,254,543.36. This trade represents a 14.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott Hudson sold 12,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.13, for a total transaction of $3,169,560.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 90,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,840,902.06. This trade represents a 11.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,500 shares of company stock worth $7,310,090. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

AJG stock opened at $244.65 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $62.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $255.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $228.58. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $190.75 and a 1 year high of $313.55.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.01 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 9.96% and a return on equity of 13.28%. The company's revenue was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.33 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is presently 46.43%.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting company. The company helps businesses, institutions and individuals identify, manage and transfer risk through insurance and related services.

Its operations include retail insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting, risk management, claims administration, actuarial services, captive insurance and wholesale brokerage. Gallagher arranges commercial property and casualty coverage, personal insurance, specialty insurance and employee benefit programs, while also providing services designed to help clients manage workplace, liability and other operational risks.

Founded in 1927 by Arthur J.

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