Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Has $137.86 Million Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 445,096 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,557 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC owned 0.17% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $137,864,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AJG. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter valued at $9,877,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,338,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,299,674,000 after purchasing an additional 3,330,205 shares during the period. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 107.1% during the 2nd quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 14,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,642,000 after purchasing an additional 7,500 shares during the last quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 21.4% in the 2nd quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 9,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Petra Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth approximately $812,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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

In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.05, for a total value of $1,290,250.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 95,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,715,254.85. The trade was a 4.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 15,850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 79,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,284,995. This represents a 16.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 24,850 shares of company stock worth $6,364,440. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG opened at $216.54 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $246.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $268.21. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $195.00 and a 52-week high of $351.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.67 billion, a PE ratio of 35.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.66.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.61 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.13% and a net margin of 11.84%.The company’s revenue was up 33.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 42.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $249.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Wolfe Research set a $289.00 price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $277.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $284.12.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

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.