National Pension Service Has $150.57 Million Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

National Pension Service lowered its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 6.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 470,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 33,756 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.18% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $150,567,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. J.Safra Asset Management Corp lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 209.1% in the second quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Motco increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 700.0% in the 1st quarter. Motco now owns 112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, SouthState Corp acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.3%

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $255.86 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $286.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $305.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $239.47 and a 1-year high of $351.23. The company has a market cap of $65.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.34 and a beta of 0.71.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.86%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total transaction of $3,825,648.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at $25,569,792. This trade represents a 13.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael Robert Pesch acquired 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $247.12 per share, with a total value of $988,480.00. Following the acquisition, the vice president directly owned 41,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,341,724.88. This trade represents a 10.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 29,855 shares of company stock worth $8,916,928 in the last ninety days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on AJG shares. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Citigroup cut their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $330.00 to $277.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 3rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $361.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.64.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.