Janus Henderson Group PLC Acquires 101,431 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 5.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,970,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 101,431 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $426,887,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at $2,825,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at about $3,429,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 118,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,924,000 after buying an additional 5,947 shares during the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,919.2% during the 2nd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 19,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,398,000 after buying an additional 19,325 shares during the period. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $412,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

AJG opened at $256.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $190.75 and a 52-week high of $313.55. The firm has a market cap of $65.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.50. The business’s fifty day moving average is $230.78 and its 200-day moving average is $224.91.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.33 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $618,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 47,819 shares in the company, valued at $9,850,714. The trade was a 5.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AJG has been the subject of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $242.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $280.00 to $250.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $235.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.35.

Trending Headlines about Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Here are the key news stories impacting Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Adjusted earnings beat expectations: Second-quarter adjusted earnings were $2.84 per share, $0.03 above the consensus estimate and up from $2.33 a year earlier. Arthur J. Gallagher Q2 Earnings Meet Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Strong top-line growth and capital returns: Revenue before reimbursements rose 24.3% year over year to approximately $3.96 billion. Brokerage and Risk Management revenue also increased 24%, including 6% organic growth, while Gallagher repurchased about 900,000 shares for roughly $170 million. Arthur J. Gallagher Q2 Revenue Rises
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend maintained: Gallagher declared a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, payable September 18 to shareholders of record September 8, supporting the income component of the investment case. Arthur J. Gallagher Announces Third Quarter Dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Board transition: The company announced the passing of director David Johnson and changes to board leadership. The development is unlikely to materially affect near-term earnings but adds a governance transition to monitor. Arthur J. Gallagher Announces Passing of Director David Johnson
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue and reported profit disappointed: Quarterly revenue of $3.95 billion was below the roughly $4.01 billion analyst forecast. Reported net income declined to $324 million from $368 million, with diluted GAAP EPS falling to $1.25 from $1.40, creating a mixed headline despite the adjusted EPS beat.
• Negative Sentiment: Sector growth concerns remain: Investors are questioning whether Gallagher’s approximately 6% organic growth can hold as insurance pricing conditions normalize, particularly after a peer reported weak underlying growth. Arthur J. Gallagher Slides Ahead of Earnings

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.

The company’s core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.