XTX Topco Ltd Purchases Shares of 26,362 Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 26,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,439,000. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. comprises approximately 0.3% of XTX Topco Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. 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 position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 209.1% during the second quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. SouthState Corp bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Steph & Co. purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 100,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,186,742.58. This trade represents a 7.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Michael Robert Pesch acquired 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $247.12 per share, for a total transaction of $988,480.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 41,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,341,724.88. This trade represents 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 35,855 shares of company stock worth $10,482,928 over the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AJG. Wolfe Research started coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $291.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $365.00 to $366.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $275.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $330.00 to $277.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $316.33.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE:AJG opened at $248.15 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $63.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.25 and a beta of 0.71. 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $279.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $301.23. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $239.47 and a 52 week high of $351.23.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.86%.

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.