Prospector Partners LLC Has $22.61 Million Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Prospector Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 100,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 280 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. makes up approximately 2.8% of Prospector Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Prospector Partners LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $22,613,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 175.6% during the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 460.9% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.24, for a total value of $205,792.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 44,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,496,312.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 16,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.41, for a total value of $3,974,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,109,286.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.24, for a total transaction of $205,792.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 44,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,496,312.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,219 shares of company stock worth $12,727,781 in the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

AJG traded down $6.52 during trading on Thursday, hitting $251.13. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 254,184 shares, compared to its average volume of 836,801. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $54.87 billion, a PE ratio of 52.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.69. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $198.52 and a one year high of $259.35. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $244.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $240.69.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.41 by $0.08. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 10.27%. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.03 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on AJG. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $253.00 to $252.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $233.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $255.00 target price (down from $280.00) on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $255.71.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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.