Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Stake Lowered by Cooke & Bieler LP

Cooke & Bieler LP lowered its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 34.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 506,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 263,418 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. comprises 1.7% of Cooke & Bieler LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Cooke & Bieler LP’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $115,470,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.4% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,242,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $702,182,000 after purchasing an additional 409,145 shares in the last quarter. Gtcr LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth approximately $514,112,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.4% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,970,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $426,887,000 after buying an additional 101,431 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 23.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,854,488 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $401,645,000 after buying an additional 346,409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.3% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,453,774 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $333,743,000 after buying an additional 3,905 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on AJG shares. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $292.00 to $271.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $225.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $280.74.

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

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.02, for a total transaction of $899,570.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 22,223 shares in the company, valued at $5,711,755.46. This represents a 13.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.13, for a total transaction of $3,169,560.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 90,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,840,902.06. This trade represents a 11.73% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 28,500 shares of company stock valued at $7,562,950. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

AJG stock opened at $258.64 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $246.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $233.14. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $190.75 and a 12-month high of $284.33. The firm has a market cap of $66.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 9.96% and a return on equity of 13.28%. The firm’s revenue was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.33 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.16 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 8th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.43%.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting company. The firm helps businesses, public entities and individuals identify, manage and transfer risk through insurance and related services.

Its operations include retail insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting, wholesale brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, claims administration and risk management consulting. Gallagher places commercial and personal insurance coverage and provides services related to property and casualty risks, health care, benefits, and other specialized insurance needs.

Founded in 1927 by Arthur J.