Empowered Funds LLC Grows Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 15.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,337 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $5,477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth about $5,848,000. KCM Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $290,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 34.1% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 156,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,992,000 after acquiring an additional 39,893 shares during the last quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth about $4,115,000. Finally, SummitTX Capital L.P. bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth approximately $1,406,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 47,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,850,714. The trade was a 5.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of AJG opened at $249.35 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $64.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $231.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $225.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $190.75 and a 1 year high of $313.55.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 9.96% and a return on equity of 13.32%. The business’s revenue was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.33 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.43%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter adjusted earnings were $2.84 per share, exceeding the $2.81 analyst consensus and rising from $2.33 a year earlier. Revenue increased 24.3% year over year to approximately $3.95 billion, supported by acquisitions and 6% organic growth across the Brokerage and Risk Management segments. Arthur J. Gallagher quarterly earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised their outlooks following the earnings release. RBC lifted its price target to $310 from $300 and retained an Outperform rating, while Mizuho raised its target to $300 from $287 and also maintained Outperform. William Blair reaffirmed its Buy rating, citing cash EPS growth, resilient brokerage performance and potential upside from mergers and acquisitions. William Blair Buy rating reaffirmed
• Positive Sentiment: Gallagher repurchased roughly 900,000 shares for about $170 million during the quarter and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, providing additional shareholder returns. Arthur J. Gallagher second-quarter results
• Neutral Sentiment: Truist raised its target to $265 but kept a Hold rating, while Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased its target to $271 and maintained Market Perform. The mixed ratings suggest analysts see valuation and execution risks despite longer-term growth potential. Analyst price-target changes
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue fell short of the approximately $4.01 billion consensus estimate as higher expenses and lower interest income offset otherwise strong operating growth. Reported net earnings declined to $324 million from $368 million a year earlier, while reported diluted EPS fell to $1.25 from $1.40. These results likely explain why the stock has decreased despite the adjusted EPS beat. AJG second-quarter earnings analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that acquisitions are contributing more to headline growth while insurance-broker organic growth could moderate. With AJG trading at a relatively high earnings multiple, the revenue miss and profitability pressure may have prompted profit-taking after the results.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $261.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $276.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $285.29.

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.