MUFG Securities EMEA plc Raises Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

MUFG Securities EMEA plc increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 114.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,615 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $2,723,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AJG. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth $1,925,062,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,338,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,299,674,000 after buying an additional 3,330,205 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9,244.9% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,053,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $272,670,000 after buying an additional 1,042,361 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.5% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,107,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $962,483,000 after buying an additional 725,555 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,270,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,013,100,000 after buying an additional 395,304 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on AJG. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $266.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $235.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $259.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $264.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $908,480.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 19,306 shares in the company, valued at $4,384,778.72. The trade was a 17.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total transaction of $864,766.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,552,814.40. The trade was a 4.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG stock opened at $205.98 on Tuesday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $190.75 and a 12 month high of $351.23. The stock has a market cap of $52.92 billion, a PE ratio of 33.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $211.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $230.45.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 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 firm had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.67 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 29.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 45.31%.

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.