Janus Henderson Group PLC Acquires 101,431 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 5.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,970,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 101,431 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned approximately 0.77% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $426,887,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Strategic Investment Advisors MI bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at $166,000. Amundi increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 939,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $203,549,000 after purchasing an additional 9,250 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 484,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $104,896,000 after purchasing an additional 14,922 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 15.2% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 25,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,477,000 after purchasing an additional 3,337 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth about $5,848,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $618,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 47,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,850,714. This trade represents a 5.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AJG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $276.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Citigroup raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $280.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price 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 given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.35.

Key Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. News

Here are the key news stories impacting Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Adjusted earnings beat expectations: Second-quarter adjusted earnings were $2.84 per share, $0.03 above the consensus estimate and up from $2.33 a year earlier. Arthur J. Gallagher Q2 Earnings Meet Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Strong top-line growth and capital returns: Revenue before reimbursements rose 24.3% year over year to approximately $3.96 billion. Brokerage and Risk Management revenue also increased 24%, including 6% organic growth, while Gallagher repurchased about 900,000 shares for roughly $170 million. Arthur J. Gallagher Q2 Revenue Rises
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend maintained: Gallagher declared a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, payable September 18 to shareholders of record September 8, supporting the income component of the investment case. Arthur J. Gallagher Announces Third Quarter Dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Board transition: The company announced the passing of director David Johnson and changes to board leadership. The development is unlikely to materially affect near-term earnings but adds a governance transition to monitor. Arthur J. Gallagher Announces Passing of Director David Johnson
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue and reported profit disappointed: Quarterly revenue of $3.95 billion was below the roughly $4.01 billion analyst forecast. Reported net income declined to $324 million from $368 million, with diluted GAAP EPS falling to $1.25 from $1.40, creating a mixed headline despite the adjusted EPS beat.
• Negative Sentiment: Sector growth concerns remain: Investors are questioning whether Gallagher’s approximately 6% organic growth can hold as insurance pricing conditions normalize, particularly after a peer reported weak underlying growth. Arthur J. Gallagher Slides Ahead of Earnings

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $256.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $230.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $224.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.88 billion, a PE ratio of 41.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.50. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $190.75 and a 52 week high of $313.55.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 10.76%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.33 EPS. Analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 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.