AIA Group Ltd Lowers Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

AIA Group Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 30.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,114 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $3,941,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Avalon Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Prosperity Bancshares Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $618,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 47,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,850,714. This represents a 5.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $254.36 on Monday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $190.75 and a 12-month high of $316.71. The company’s 50-day moving average is $221.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $225.41. The firm has a market cap of $65.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.67 EPS. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 29.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.22 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $242.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $276.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of 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. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.35.

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.