Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems decreased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 4.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 810 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $4,117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital International Investors increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,050,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,763,177,000 after purchasing an additional 727,325 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth $1,308,316,000. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9.0% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,832,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,208,208,000 after acquiring an additional 398,350 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% in the first quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,624,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $656,217,000 after acquiring an additional 14,366 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.3% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,567,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $392,029,000 after acquiring an additional 79,271 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AJG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $267.00 in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $252.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Bank Of America (Bofa) raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Argus raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $273.27.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 3.5 %

NYSE AJG traded up $9.61 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $283.58. 1,161,116 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 713,993. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $214.13 and a 12 month high of $283.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.96 billion, a PE ratio of 57.40, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50 day moving average of $261.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $248.60.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.02. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 19.56%. The firm had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.90 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 48.58%.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.45, for a total value of $2,634,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 93,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,693,168.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 8,717 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.00, for a total value of $2,240,269.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 44,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,485,587. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.45, for a total transaction of $2,634,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 93,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,693,168.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 53,165 shares of company stock worth $13,629,049. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.