Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co Acquires 2,260 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 27.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,260 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $2,397,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Dearborn Partners LLC grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 133,936 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,661,000 after acquiring an additional 7,946 shares in the last quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,571,000. Gtcr LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth approximately $514,112,000. SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd. bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at $1,371,000. Finally, Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter worth $5,848,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $267.43 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $190.75 and a 12-month high of $313.55. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $249.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $225.78. The company has a market capitalization of $68.54 billion, a PE ratio of 44.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.28% and a net margin of 9.96%.The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.33 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AJG shares. Citigroup raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $235.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Argus raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $267.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $276.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $290.28.

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

In other news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $618,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 47,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,850,714. This trade represents a 5.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.08, for a total transaction of $3,240,960.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 71,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,254,543.36. This trade represents a 14.41% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,758,530. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.