Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Stock Purchased by PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators

PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 56,149 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,292 shares during the period. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators’ holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $12,808,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.1% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 221,369 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,237,000 after purchasing an additional 8,630 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 40.4% during the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 19,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,773,000 after buying an additional 5,578 shares during the period. Cabot Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cabot Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,305,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 96.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 3,403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $776,000 after buying an additional 1,668 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobi Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 55.0% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 5,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,181,000 after buying an additional 1,837 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 research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $284.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Seaport Research Partners raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Argus increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $267.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $292.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 30,996 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.15, for a total transaction of $8,528,549.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 92,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,578,219.15. This represents a 25.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 15,020 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.30, for a total value of $4,240,146.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 16,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,740,099.30. This represents a 47.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 105,616 shares of company stock worth $29,193,156. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 1.6%

AJG opened at $277.40 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $190.75 and a 1 year high of $294.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $251.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $233.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $71.12 billion, a PE ratio of 42.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.47.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.01. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.39% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The firm had revenue of $3.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.32 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 7th will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 7th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.81%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. is a global insurance brokerage and risk management services firm. It helps businesses and other organizations assess and manage risk, arrange insurance coverage, and address employee benefits needs. The company’s services include insurance brokerage, risk management consulting, employee benefits consulting, and claims and settlement services through its Gallagher Bassett business. It serves clients in the United States and internationally, including through a network of correspondent brokers.