Bank of Montreal Can Grows Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 30.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 326,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 76,423 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned 0.15% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $86,401,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $992,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.4% in the second quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,409,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. ERn Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. ERn Financial LLC now owns 2,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $636,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.8% during the second quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,331 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,642,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $279.33 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.54, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $218.63 and a one year high of $301.04. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $285.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $263.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.90 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AJG shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $301.00 to $309.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Barclays assumed coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $300.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen increased their price target on 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. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $282.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.68, for a total transaction of $1,992,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,625,146.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 6,335 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.06, for a total transaction of $1,799,520.10. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 30,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,536,855.18. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.68, for a total value of $1,992,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,625,146.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 44,145 shares of company stock worth $12,622,660 in the last ninety days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.