Renaissance Technologies LLC Has $16.59 Million Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 1,673.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 76,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 72,280 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $16,590,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,825,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,429,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.3% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 118,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,924,000 after purchasing an additional 5,947 shares in the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,919.2% in the second quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 19,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,398,000 after purchasing an additional 19,325 shares during the period. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth $412,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG opened at $256.46 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.50, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.50. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $190.75 and a 12 month high of $313.55. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $230.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $224.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.33 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.31%.

Key Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. News

Here are the key news stories impacting Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Adjusted earnings beat expectations: Second-quarter adjusted earnings were $2.84 per share, $0.03 above the consensus estimate and up from $2.33 a year earlier. Arthur J. Gallagher Q2 Earnings Meet Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Strong top-line growth and capital returns: Revenue before reimbursements rose 24.3% year over year to approximately $3.96 billion. Brokerage and Risk Management revenue also increased 24%, including 6% organic growth, while Gallagher repurchased about 900,000 shares for roughly $170 million. Arthur J. Gallagher Q2 Revenue Rises
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend maintained: Gallagher declared a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, payable September 18 to shareholders of record September 8, supporting the income component of the investment case. Arthur J. Gallagher Announces Third Quarter Dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Board transition: The company announced the passing of director David Johnson and changes to board leadership. The development is unlikely to materially affect near-term earnings but adds a governance transition to monitor. Arthur J. Gallagher Announces Passing of Director David Johnson
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue and reported profit disappointed: Quarterly revenue of $3.95 billion was below the roughly $4.01 billion analyst forecast. Reported net income declined to $324 million from $368 million, with diluted GAAP EPS falling to $1.25 from $1.40, creating a mixed headline despite the adjusted EPS beat.
• Negative Sentiment: Sector growth concerns remain: Investors are questioning whether Gallagher’s approximately 6% organic growth can hold as insurance pricing conditions normalize, particularly after a peer reported weak underlying growth. Arthur J. Gallagher Slides Ahead of Earnings

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on AJG. UBS Group raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $250.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased 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. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $235.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $280.35.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $618,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 47,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,850,714. This represents a 5.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.