Benjamin Edwards Inc. Boosts Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 1,486.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 101,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 94,795 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $28,473,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,305,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,462,392,000 after buying an additional 580,134 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.6% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,196,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $899,538,000 after acquiring an additional 383,130 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.7% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,640,938 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $425,511,000 after buying an additional 42,841 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.7% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,410,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $365,718,000 after purchasing an additional 50,650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 219.6% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,043,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $270,660,000 after acquiring an additional 717,221 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.70, for a total value of $1,992,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,963 shares in the company, valued at $21,626,666.10. This trade represents a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total transaction of $803,600.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at $4,211,438. This represents a 16.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,900 shares of company stock worth $6,892,280 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 0.9 %

AJG stock opened at $312.24 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $290.89 and a 200-day moving average of $279.37. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $218.63 and a fifty-two week high of $316.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.26. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.78 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 19.12%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.00 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on AJG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, November 25th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $254.00 to $293.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $291.64.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.