California State Teachers Retirement System Purchases 85,802,321 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 23,248.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 86,171,395 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 85,802,321 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.34% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $19,782,367,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Walter Bay sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.08, for a total value of $3,240,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 71,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,254,543.36. This represents a 14.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Christopher 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 value of $899,570.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 22,223 shares in the company, valued at $5,711,755.46. This trade represents a 13.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 27,500 shares of company stock valued at $7,310,090 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on AJG. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $299.00 to $296.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $276.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $291.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Mizuho lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $261.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $290.28.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG opened at $262.24 on Tuesday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $190.75 and a 12-month high of $313.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market cap of $67.21 billion, a PE ratio of 43.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $254.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $228.13.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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.