The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Reduces Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 24.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 322,634 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 102,720 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $69,876,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Finally, Avalon Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AJG shares. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $261.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $235.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $280.35.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.4%

AJG stock opened at $268.92 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $229.80 and a 200 day moving average of $224.96. The firm has a market cap of $69.09 billion, a PE ratio of 43.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.50. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $190.75 and a twelve month high of $313.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 45.31%.

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.