Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Position Increased by Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 24.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,645 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,705 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $2,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AJG. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 89.7% in the 2nd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $295.94 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $284.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $262.15. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $218.63 and a 12-month high of $301.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 19.25%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. On average, 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 48.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AJG shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $300.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $267.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $276.82.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.07, for a total value of $2,482,959.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,654,772.41. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, President Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.96, for a total value of $4,244,400.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 329,099 shares in the company, valued at $93,121,853.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.07, for a total value of $2,482,959.70. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares in the company, valued at $21,654,772.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 37,145 shares of company stock valued at $10,629,900 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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.