Capital World Investors Acquires 830,252 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 7.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,613,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 830,252 shares during the period. Capital World Investors owned about 4.91% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $3,264,359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caprock Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $9,877,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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 worth $6,299,674,000 after purchasing an additional 3,330,205 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 65,889 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,398,000 after purchasing an additional 6,090 shares during the period. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 241.4% in the 3rd quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 49,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,332,000 after purchasing an additional 35,000 shares during the period. Finally, Cincinnati Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,824,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

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

In related news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $618,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 47,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,850,714. This trade represents a 5.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of AJG opened at $216.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $190.75 and a 1 year high of $330.78. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $210.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $229.29. The firm has a market cap of $55.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.52.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.04. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The business had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.67 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 29.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AJG shares. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $226.00 to $211.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $262.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Citigroup raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $280.00 to $250.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group set a $240.00 target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.00.

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.