Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Invests $23.20 Million in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 74,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $23,200,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AJG. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter valued at about $1,536,230,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,338,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,299,674,000 after purchasing an additional 3,330,205 shares in the last quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 453.3% in the second quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 1,121,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $358,934,000 after purchasing an additional 918,618 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 41,475.5% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 770,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $246,619,000 after buying an additional 768,541 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.5% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,107,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $962,483,000 after buying an additional 725,555 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $908,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 19,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,384,778.72. This trade represents a 17.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 15,850 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $4,041,750.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 79,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,284,995. The trade was a 16.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 32,650 shares of company stock valued at $8,137,686. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 4.5%

NYSE AJG opened at $217.87 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.02 billion, a PE ratio of 35.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $238.98 and its 200 day moving average is $262.54. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $195.00 and a twelve month high of $351.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.13% and a net margin of 11.84%.The business had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 33.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AJG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $277.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $279.00 to $249.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $226.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $281.76.

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.