Ascent Wealth Partners LLC Grows Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Ascent Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 30.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,822 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,824 shares during the quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $6,984,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of AJG. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 180.6% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,228,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $307,076,000 after buying an additional 790,467 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,050,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,763,177,000 after purchasing an additional 727,325 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 219.6% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,043,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $270,660,000 after purchasing an additional 717,221 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 231.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 885,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $249,237,000 after purchasing an additional 618,362 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9.0% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,832,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,208,208,000 after purchasing an additional 398,350 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AJG. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank Of America (Bofa) upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $292.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $254.00 to $293.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $241.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $287.00.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total value of $2,103,020.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 33,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,853,685.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.68, for a total value of $1,992,760.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,625,146.84. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total transaction of $2,103,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 33,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,853,685.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $6,892,280 over the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of AJG traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $290.45. 34,455 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 843,316. The company has a market cap of $63.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $218.63 and a fifty-two week high of $301.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $288.45 and its 200-day moving average is $272.10.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.26. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.78 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 19.12%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.00 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.71%.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.