Retirement Systems of Alabama Boosts Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 201,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,433 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $62,281,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. J.Safra Asset Management Corp increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 209.1% during the second quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Steph & Co. purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter worth about $40,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 40.6% in the 3rd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.11, for a total transaction of $1,032,440.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 17,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,472,271.97. This trade represents a 18.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 15,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total value of $4,041,750.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 79,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,284,995. This represents a 16.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 32,100 shares of company stock worth $8,243,865 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.1%

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $253.13 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $65.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.84 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $236.34 and a fifty-two week high of $351.23. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $253.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $278.69.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.34 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 11.98% and a net margin of 13.58%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.26 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 38.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AJG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $276.00 to $272.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $353.00 to $334.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $292.00 price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $290.50.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.