Clarius Group LLC Has $362,000 Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Clarius Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 20.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the quarter. Clarius Group LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $362,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 38.3% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,372,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,997,767,000 after acquiring an additional 4,815,007 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,411,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,499,185,000 after acquiring an additional 739,130 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth about $240,665,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3,142.2% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 640,911 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $221,268,000 after buying an additional 621,143 shares during the period. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth about $136,565,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $309.30 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $297.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $316.39. The company has a market cap of $79.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.93 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.36. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $275.56 and a fifty-two week high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The business’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on AJG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $288.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $369.00 to $365.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $344.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $328.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total value of $3,825,648.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,569,792. This trade represents a 13.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total value of $2,396,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 100,777 shares in the company, valued at $30,186,742.58. This trade represents a 7.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,855 shares of company stock worth $8,916,928 over the last ninety days. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co engages in the provision of insurance brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party claims settlement and administration services. It operates through the following segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.