Congress Asset Management Co. Has $1.65 Million Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Congress Asset Management Co. decreased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 98.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 392,825 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $1,652,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,338,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,299,674,000 after acquiring an additional 3,330,205 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,783,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,649,477,000 after purchasing an additional 101,298 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,891,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,373,403,000 after purchasing an additional 147,587 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,194,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,228,156,000 after purchasing an additional 45,256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,536,230,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG stock opened at $213.94 on Thursday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $195.00 and a 1 year high of $351.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $227.13 and its 200-day moving average is $255.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.79, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 45.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $226.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Mizuho upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Wolfe Research set a $289.00 price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine 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 an average target price of $273.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total transaction of $864,766.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at $19,552,814.40. The trade was a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $908,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 19,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,384,778.72. This represents a 17.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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.