Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Bought by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 54,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,767 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $14,032,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AJG. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 3rd quarter worth about $9,877,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 3,330,205 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 10.2% during the third quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 65,889 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,398,000 after purchasing an additional 6,090 shares during the last quarter. Cincinnati Financial Corp acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the third quarter worth approximately $42,824,000. Finally, Factory Mutual Insurance Co. raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 241.4% during the third quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 49,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,332,000 after purchasing an additional 35,000 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 other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $908,480.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 19,306 shares in the company, valued at $4,384,778.72. This trade represents a 17.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total transaction of $864,766.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 85,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,552,814.40. This trade represents a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $203.36 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $211.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $232.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $190.75 and a twelve month high of $351.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.91, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.54.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 10.76%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.67 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AJG. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $266.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $259.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $268.00.

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.