Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Acquired by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 904.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 170,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 153,187 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $36,846,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Prosperity Bancshares Inc acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AJG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $235.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Barclays increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $299.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $276.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $280.35.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $253.46 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $227.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $224.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $65.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.01, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.50. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $190.75 and a 1-year high of $315.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.04. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 10.76%.The business had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 45.31%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $618,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 47,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,850,714. This represents a 5.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.