Sandhill Capital Partners LLC Makes New $33.53 Million Investment in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Sandhill Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 108,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $33,530,000. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. comprises 2.3% of Sandhill Capital Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth $1,536,230,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,338,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,299,674,000 after acquiring an additional 3,330,205 shares in the last quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 453.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 1,121,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $358,934,000 after acquiring an additional 918,618 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 41,475.5% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 770,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $246,619,000 after acquiring an additional 768,541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,107,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $962,483,000 after acquiring an additional 725,555 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

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

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.11, for a total value of $1,032,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 17,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,472,271.97. This trade represents a 18.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 15,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total value of $4,041,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 79,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,284,995. The trade was a 16.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,850 shares of company stock valued at $6,364,440. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG stock opened at $228.40 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $58.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $195.00 and a 52 week high of $351.23. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $239.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $263.15.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 12.13%. The firm had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 33.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AJG shares. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $277.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $250.00 to $247.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Wolfe Research set a $289.00 target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $226.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $279.00 to $249.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $281.76.

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.