Bowie Capital Management LLC Buys 209,521 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Bowie Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 91.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 438,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 209,521 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. accounts for 3.5% of Bowie Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Bowie Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $95,063,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,925,062,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 123.5% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,887,538 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,523,636,000 after purchasing an additional 3,253,498 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9,244.9% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,053,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $272,670,000 after buying an additional 1,042,361 shares during the period. Viking Global Investors LP bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at $269,394,000. Finally, Dodge & Cox acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth $227,887,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AJG shares. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $235.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $242.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $280.35.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 2.2%

AJG stock opened at $242.69 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.50. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $190.75 and a fifty-two week high of $315.48. The business has a 50-day moving average of $224.47 and a 200-day moving average of $225.15.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.04. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 10.76%.The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.67 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.31%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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.