Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Position Boosted by Nordea Investment Management AB

Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 10.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,633 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $8,665,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AJG. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,096,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,954,625,000 after purchasing an additional 685,278 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,743,493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,439,207,000 after buying an additional 117,646 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,536,230,000. WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.5% in the second quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,464,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $783,097,000 after acquiring an additional 128,071 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.2% during the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,381,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $762,473,000 after acquiring an additional 94,940 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of AJG opened at $258.32 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $253.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $281.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.61 and a beta of 0.67. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $236.34 and a 1-year high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.34 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 11.98% and a net margin of 13.58%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.26 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 38.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on AJG. Truist Financial cut their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $292.00 price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Needham & Company LLC set a $272.00 target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $250.00 to $247.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $344.00 to $282.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $290.50.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 15,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $4,041,750.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 79,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,284,995. The trade was a 16.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael Robert Pesch acquired 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $247.12 per share, with a total value of $988,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 41,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,341,724.88. This trade represents a 10.57% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 32,100 shares of company stock worth $8,243,865. Insiders own 1.60% 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.