New York State Common Retirement Fund Increases Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 87.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 342,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 159,928 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.13% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $109,712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.3% during the second quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $494,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.3% during the first quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $948,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,761,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC now owns 3,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,032,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $926,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AJG has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $340.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $291.00 price objective for the company. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Barclays cut shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $328.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $330.00 to $277.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $316.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Michael Robert Pesch bought 4,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $247.12 per share, with a total value of $988,480.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president directly owned 41,849 shares in the company, valued at $10,341,724.88. The trade was a 10.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.74, for a total transaction of $313,425.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 17,327 shares in the company, valued at $4,344,571.98. The trade was a 6.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 37,105 shares of company stock worth $10,796,353. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $247.69 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $63.61 billion, a PE ratio of 35.18 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $239.47 and a 52 week high of $351.23. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $275.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $299.07.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.19). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The company had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a $0.65 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.86%.

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.