Forsta AP Fonden Grows Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Forsta AP Fonden lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 10.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 66,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,400 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $21,128,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. J.Safra Asset Management Corp increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 209.1% in the 2nd quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Motco lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 700.0% during the first quarter. Motco now owns 112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SouthState Corp purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE AJG opened at $255.86 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $65.60 billion, a PE ratio of 36.34 and a beta of 0.71. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $239.47 and a 1-year high of $351.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $286.52 and a 200-day moving average of $305.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.34 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%.Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.26 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AJG. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $275.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $353.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The stock was 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Michael Robert Pesch purchased 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $247.12 per share, with a total value of $988,480.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 41,849 shares in the company, valued at $10,341,724.88. The trade was a 10.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 29,855 shares of company stock valued at $8,916,928 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.