PFG Advisors Grows Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

PFG Advisors raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 13.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,512 shares during the period. PFG Advisors’ holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $9,368,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,938 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,305,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 15.6% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 35,751 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,343,000 after buying an additional 4,823 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 37,515 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,952,000 after acquiring an additional 1,871 shares during the last quarter. IFC Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth $212,000. Finally, Coyle Financial Counsel LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter worth about $297,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on AJG. Wall Street Zen downgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. 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. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $340.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.73.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE:AJG opened at $249.75 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.48 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $289.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $307.23. 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 12-month low of $239.47 and a 12-month high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $3.34 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.26 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Michael Robert Pesch purchased 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $247.12 per share, with a total value of $988,480.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president owned 41,849 shares in the company, valued at $10,341,724.88. This trade represents a 10.57% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 7.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 29,855 shares of company stock worth $8,916,928. Company 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.