Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Bought by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 1.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 519,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,553 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned approximately 0.24% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $129,854,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AJG. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.4% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 107,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $24,514,000 after purchasing an additional 3,561 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 18.4% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,583 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,000,975 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,139,872,000 after purchasing an additional 90,842 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the third quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 10.4% in the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 87,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,016,000 after buying an additional 8,244 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 8,303 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.74, for a total value of $2,181,530.22. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 36,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,560,583.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 8,303 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.74, for a total value of $2,181,530.22. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 36,388 shares in the company, valued at $9,560,583.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,395 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.00, for a total value of $862,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 38,314 shares in the company, valued at $9,731,756. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 53,165 shares of company stock valued at $13,629,049. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AJG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $253.00 to $252.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Argus boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $282.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $263.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

AJG stock traded down $0.48 on Wednesday, reaching $261.52. 78,349 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 858,885. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $251.52 and a 200-day moving average of $242.76. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $212.39 and a twelve month high of $266.39. The firm has a market cap of $57.14 billion, a PE ratio of 53.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 10.27%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.58%.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.