M Holdings Securities Inc. Purchases New Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

M Holdings Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $428,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Triumph Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. NFSG Corp increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4,033.3% in the third quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth $28,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 57.4% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $281.88 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.10, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $251.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $233.65. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $190.75 and a 12 month high of $294.53.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.01. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.39% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The firm had revenue of $3.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.32 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.13 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 7th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 7th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 42.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP William F. Ziebell sold 23,510 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.62, for a total transaction of $6,738,436.20. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 48,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,027,756.04. This represents a 32.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 30,996 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.15, for a total value of $8,528,549.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 92,961 shares in the company, valued at $25,578,219.15. This trade represents a 25.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 105,616 shares of company stock valued at $29,193,156 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AJG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $295.00 to $319.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Oppenheimer began coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $292.05.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. is a global insurance brokerage and risk management services firm. It helps businesses and other organizations assess and manage risk, arrange insurance coverage, and address employee benefits needs. The company’s services include insurance brokerage, risk management consulting, employee benefits consulting, and claims and settlement services through its Gallagher Bassett business. It serves clients in the United States and internationally, including through a network of correspondent brokers.