Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Purchased by Findlay Park Partners LLP

Findlay Park Partners LLP increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,069,901 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 125,800 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. accounts for about 3.5% of Findlay Park Partners LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Findlay Park Partners LLP’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $331,391,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,536,230,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,338,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,299,674,000 after buying an additional 3,330,205 shares during the last quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 453.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 1,121,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $358,934,000 after acquiring an additional 918,618 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 41,475.5% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 770,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $246,619,000 after acquiring an additional 768,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,107,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $962,483,000 after acquiring an additional 725,555 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 15,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total value of $4,041,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 79,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,284,995. The trade was a 16.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.11, for a total transaction of $1,032,440.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 17,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,472,271.97. This represents a 18.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 24,850 shares of company stock valued at $6,364,440. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AJG. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $292.00 price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $226.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $283.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $279.00 to $249.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $281.76.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $227.86 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $243.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $265.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $195.00 and a fifty-two week high of $351.23. The company has a market cap of $58.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.66.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.13% and a net margin of 11.84%.Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.12 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 42.28%.

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.