Allstate Corp Acquires 10,415 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Allstate Corp lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 114.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,415 shares during the period. Allstate Corp’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $5,054,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 41.2% in the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 67.9% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,563 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $405,000 after buying an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 295.2% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 245 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 634 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 43.1% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 16,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,299,000 after purchasing an additional 5,003 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $908,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 19,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,384,778.72. This trade represents a 17.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total transaction of $864,766.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,552,814.40. The trade was a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $204.21 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $211.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $231.78. 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 cap of $52.46 billion, a PE ratio of 33.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.54. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $190.75 and a 1 year high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.67 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AJG. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Friday, January 30th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $259.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 13th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $262.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group set a $240.00 price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $264.00.

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.