Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Has $24.74 Million Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 19.8% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 77,294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,800 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $24,743,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 38.3% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,372,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,997,767,000 after acquiring an additional 4,815,007 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,411,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,499,185,000 after purchasing an additional 739,130 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at about $240,665,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3,142.2% in the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 640,911 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $221,268,000 after buying an additional 621,143 shares during the period. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth about $136,565,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 0.6%

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $279.14 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $71.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.65 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $298.10 and a 200-day moving average of $312.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.36. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $275.56 and a one year high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.36 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%.The business’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on AJG shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $344.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $331.43.

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

In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 85,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,569,792. This trade represents a 13.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,855 shares of company stock valued at $8,916,928 over the last three months. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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.