PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Purchases 3,229 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 3.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 90,375 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,229 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $27,993,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,096,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,954,625,000 after buying an additional 685,278 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,743,493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,439,207,000 after purchasing an additional 117,646 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,536,230,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,866,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $887,976,000 after purchasing an additional 593,483 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,381,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $762,473,000 after buying an additional 94,940 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.11, for a total value of $1,032,440.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 17,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,472,271.97. This trade represents a 18.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 15,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $4,041,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 79,549 shares in the company, valued at $20,284,995. This represents a 16.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 26,100 shares of company stock worth $6,677,865. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AJG shares. Morgan Stanley set a $300.00 target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Wolfe Research set a $289.00 price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $249.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $284.12.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of AJG opened at $214.36 on Wednesday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $195.00 and a twelve month high of $351.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $248.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $269.54. The company has a market cap of $55.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.28%.

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.