Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Has $9.08 Million Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 33.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,271 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $9,078,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 209.1% during 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. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% during the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Steph & Co. bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at $40,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 40.6% in the 3rd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.00, for a total value of $1,566,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 50,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,224,348. This represents a 10.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael Robert Pesch acquired 4,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $247.12 per share, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 32,100 shares of company stock worth $8,243,865 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $264.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $236.34 and a 52 week high of $351.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.56 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $252.87 and a 200-day moving average of $283.27.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released 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 business 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 13.58% and a return on equity of 11.98%. The business’s revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.26 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $329.00 to $285.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $300.00 price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $344.00 to $328.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $276.00 to $272.00 in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $297.53.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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.