Welch Group LLC Grows Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Welch Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 10.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 253,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,787 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. accounts for about 2.1% of Welch Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $54,797,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,390,446 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,123,534,000 after purchasing an additional 217,136 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,613,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,264,359,000 after purchasing an additional 830,252 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,953,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,834,682,000 after purchasing an additional 62,518 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,925,062,000. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,194,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,228,156,000 after buying an additional 45,256 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 3.9%

Shares of AJG opened at $226.34 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $190.75 and a 12 month high of $323.25. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $210.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $225.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $58.15 billion, a PE ratio of 36.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.52.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.04. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The company had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.67 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AJG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $280.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $266.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $264.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $618,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 47,819 shares in the company, valued at $9,850,714. This represents a 5.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.