Old North State Trust LLC Makes New Investment in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Old North State Trust LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 8,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,846,000. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. accounts for approximately 0.9% of Old North State Trust LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AJG. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,613,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,264,359,000 after acquiring an additional 830,252 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,953,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,834,682,000 after acquiring an additional 62,518 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,925,062,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 123.5% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,887,538 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,523,636,000 after purchasing an additional 3,253,498 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,242,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $702,182,000 after purchasing an additional 409,145 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $276.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Truist Financial raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $225.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $299.00 to $296.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $290.28.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $259.78 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $190.75 and a 12 month high of $313.55. The company has a market cap of $66.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $248.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $225.48.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.28% and a net margin of 9.96%.The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.33 EPS. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.27 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.02, for a total value of $899,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 22,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,711,755.46. This represents a 13.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 12,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.08, for a total transaction of $3,240,960.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 71,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,254,543.36. The trade was a 14.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,500 shares of company stock worth $4,758,530. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.