Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Stock Position Decreased by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,911,460 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 713,863 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $1,884,353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. J.Safra Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings 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 valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Motco boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 700.0% during the 1st quarter. Motco now owns 112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, SouthState Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $255.86 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $239.47 and a 1 year high of $351.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $286.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $305.66. The company has a market cap of $65.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.34 and a beta of 0.71.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.26 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 38.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total transaction of $2,396,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 100,777 shares in the company, valued at $30,186,742.58. The trade was a 7.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael Robert Pesch bought 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $247.12 per share, with a total value of $988,480.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president owned 41,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,341,724.88. The trade was a 10.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders sold 29,855 shares of company stock worth $8,916,928 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AJG. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $361.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $353.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $365.00 to $366.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.64.

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.