National Pension Service Boosts Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

National Pension Service raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 3.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 516,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 18,047 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $118,532,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth approximately $2,825,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,429,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.3% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 118,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,924,000 after purchasing an additional 5,947 shares in the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,919.2% during the 2nd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 19,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,398,000 after buying an additional 19,325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $412,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, General Counsel Walter Bay sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.08, for a total transaction of $3,240,960.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 71,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,254,543.36. This trade represents a 14.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Scott Hudson sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.13, for a total value of $3,169,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 90,262 shares in the company, valued at $23,840,902.06. This trade represents a 11.73% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 27,500 shares of company stock valued at $7,310,090 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $243.54 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $255.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $228.77. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $190.75 and a 12 month high of $313.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.39, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 9.96% and a return on equity of 13.28%. The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.33 EPS. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s quarterly revenue was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AJG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $276.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $235.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $291.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $290.28.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting company. The company helps businesses, institutions and individuals identify, manage and transfer risk through insurance and related services.

Its operations include retail insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting, risk management, claims administration, actuarial services, captive insurance and wholesale brokerage. Gallagher arranges commercial property and casualty coverage, personal insurance, specialty insurance and employee benefit programs, while also providing services designed to help clients manage workplace, liability and other operational risks.

Founded in 1927 by Arthur J.