Saudi Central Bank Has $4.13 Million Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Saudi Central Bank boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 89.9% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 17,997 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,518 shares during the period. Saudi Central Bank’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $4,132,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,613,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,264,359,000 after purchasing an additional 830,252 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,953,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,834,682,000 after purchasing an additional 62,518 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,925,062,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 123.5% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,887,538 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,523,636,000 after buying an additional 3,253,498 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.4% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,242,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $702,182,000 after buying an additional 409,145 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $262.24 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.21 billion, a PE ratio of 43.49, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $190.75 and a 1-year high of $313.55. The business’s 50 day moving average is $254.17 and its 200-day moving average is $227.80.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its 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. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.28% and a net margin of 9.96%.The business had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.33 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AJG. Barclays upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $261.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $291.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $276.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $290.28.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,000 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $23,840,902.06. This represents a 11.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.02, for a total transaction of $899,570.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 22,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,711,755.46. This represents a 13.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 27,500 shares of company stock valued at $7,310,090. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.