Royal Bank of Canada Grows Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 3.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 484,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,922 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.19% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $104,896,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Prosperity Bancshares Inc bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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

In related news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $618,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 47,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,850,714. This trade represents a 5.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AJG shares. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $225.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $235.00 to $265.00 in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $250.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $285.29.

Key Headlines Impacting Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Here are the key news stories impacting Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Second-quarter adjusted earnings were $2.84 per share, exceeding the $2.81 analyst consensus and rising from $2.33 a year earlier. Revenue increased 24.3% year over year to approximately $3.95 billion, supported by acquisitions and 6% organic growth across the Brokerage and Risk Management segments. Arthur J. Gallagher quarterly earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised their outlooks following the earnings release. RBC lifted its price target to $310 from $300 and retained an Outperform rating, while Mizuho raised its target to $300 from $287 and also maintained Outperform. William Blair reaffirmed its Buy rating, citing cash EPS growth, resilient brokerage performance and potential upside from mergers and acquisitions. William Blair Buy rating reaffirmed
• Positive Sentiment: Gallagher repurchased roughly 900,000 shares for about $170 million during the quarter and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, providing additional shareholder returns. Arthur J. Gallagher second-quarter results
• Neutral Sentiment: Truist raised its target to $265 but kept a Hold rating, while Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased its target to $271 and maintained Market Perform. The mixed ratings suggest analysts see valuation and execution risks despite longer-term growth potential. Analyst price-target changes
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue fell short of the approximately $4.01 billion consensus estimate as higher expenses and lower interest income offset otherwise strong operating growth. Reported net earnings declined to $324 million from $368 million a year earlier, while reported diluted EPS fell to $1.25 from $1.40. These results likely explain why the stock has decreased despite the adjusted EPS beat. AJG second-quarter earnings analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that acquisitions are contributing more to headline growth while insurance-broker organic growth could moderate. With AJG trading at a relatively high earnings multiple, the revenue miss and profitability pressure may have prompted profit-taking after the results.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of AJG stock opened at $249.35 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.50. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $190.75 and a 12-month high of $313.55. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $231.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $225.08.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.32% and a net margin of 9.96%.The firm’s revenue was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.33 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.43%.

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.