Renaissance Technologies LLC Buys 72,280 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 1,673.1% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 76,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 72,280 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $16,590,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth approximately $2,825,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter worth $3,429,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.3% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 118,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,924,000 after acquiring an additional 5,947 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,919.2% in the second quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 19,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,398,000 after acquiring an additional 19,325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth about $412,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Adjusted earnings beat expectations: Second-quarter adjusted earnings were $2.84 per share, $0.03 above the consensus estimate and up from $2.33 a year earlier. Arthur J. Gallagher Q2 Earnings Meet Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Strong top-line growth and capital returns: Revenue before reimbursements rose 24.3% year over year to approximately $3.96 billion. Brokerage and Risk Management revenue also increased 24%, including 6% organic growth, while Gallagher repurchased about 900,000 shares for roughly $170 million. Arthur J. Gallagher Q2 Revenue Rises
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend maintained: Gallagher declared a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, payable September 18 to shareholders of record September 8, supporting the income component of the investment case. Arthur J. Gallagher Announces Third Quarter Dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Board transition: The company announced the passing of director David Johnson and changes to board leadership. The development is unlikely to materially affect near-term earnings but adds a governance transition to monitor. Arthur J. Gallagher Announces Passing of Director David Johnson
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue and reported profit disappointed: Quarterly revenue of $3.95 billion was below the roughly $4.01 billion analyst forecast. Reported net income declined to $324 million from $368 million, with diluted GAAP EPS falling to $1.25 from $1.40, creating a mixed headline despite the adjusted EPS beat.
• Negative Sentiment: Sector growth concerns remain: Investors are questioning whether Gallagher’s approximately 6% organic growth can hold as insurance pricing conditions normalize, particularly after a peer reported weak underlying growth. Arthur J. Gallagher Slides Ahead of Earnings

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $618,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 47,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,850,714. This represents a 5.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AJG shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Truist Financial cut their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Mizuho increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $261.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $235.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.35.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $256.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $190.75 and a 52 week high of $313.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $230.78 and a 200-day moving average of $224.91.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 10.76%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.33 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.31%.

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.