Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 825,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 32,342 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $255,792,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 98.2% during the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $214,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 91.3% in the 2nd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 5,391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,726,000 after buying an additional 2,573 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 62,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,107,000 after acquiring an additional 4,642 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 77,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $24,890,000 after acquiring an additional 2,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 28,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,146,000 after acquiring an additional 1,615 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total value of $864,766.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 85,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,552,814.40. This trade represents a 4.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.05, for a total value of $1,290,250.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 95,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,715,254.85. The trade was a 4.96% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 32,650 shares of company stock valued at $8,137,686. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG opened at $207.86 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $234.93 and its 200-day moving average is $259.95. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $195.00 and a 12-month high of $351.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.67.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 12.13%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 33.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 45.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AJG. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $311.00 to $298.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Mizuho raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, February 27th. Truist Financial set a $271.00 target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $277.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Monday, December 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $282.65.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.