Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Boosts Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 4.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,251 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $7,655,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 89.7% in the second quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Security National Bank purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

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

In other news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 8,303 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.74, for a total transaction of $2,181,530.22. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 36,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,560,583.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 8,303 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.74, for a total value of $2,181,530.22. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 36,388 shares in the company, valued at $9,560,583.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.45, for a total transaction of $2,634,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 93,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,693,168.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 48,348 shares of company stock worth $13,342,910 in the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $294.25 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $279.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $259.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $64.29 billion, a PE ratio of 59.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $218.63 and a 12 month high of $298.24.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.02. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The firm had revenue of $2.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.90 EPS. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a report on Friday, July 26th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $233.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Argus boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $276.82.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.