Zions Bancorporation National Association UT Acquires Shares of 995 Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Key Points

• Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased 995 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. valued at approximately $344,000 during the first quarter.
• Insider activity revealed that VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares for over $3.5 million, resulting in a 10.33% decrease in his ownership position.
• The latest quarterly earnings report indicated an EPS of $2.33, missing estimates, with revenue growth of 16% year-over-year.

Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 995 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $344,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,411,264 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,499,185,000 after acquiring an additional 739,130 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 10,067,647 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,857,737,000 after purchasing an additional 305,876 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,199,413 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,327,403,000 after purchasing an additional 1,910,471 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,957,633 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $839,524,000 after purchasing an additional 260,533 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 25.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,355,301 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $668,552,000 after purchasing an additional 480,193 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AJG. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group reduced their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $345.00 to $322.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $331.07.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE AJG traded up $0.11 on Friday, reaching $293.52. 316,359 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,544,449. The company has a market cap of $75.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.70 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $308.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $322.39. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $274.25 and a 12 month high of $351.23.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.93%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.17, for a total transaction of $3,540,285.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 91,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,741,474.75. This represents a 10.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total transaction of $4,645,755.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 11,941 shares in the company, valued at $4,109,256.33. The trade was a 53.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

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.