Quantbot Technologies LP Buys New Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 12,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,391,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AJG. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 219.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,043,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $270,660,000 after acquiring an additional 717,221 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 231.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 885,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $249,237,000 after buying an additional 618,362 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,305,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,462,392,000 after buying an additional 580,134 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.6% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,196,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $899,538,000 after buying an additional 383,130 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 29,927.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 232,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $65,394,000 after acquiring an additional 231,638 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $315.00 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market capitalization of $69.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $289.51 and a 200 day moving average of $278.29. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $218.63 and a 52 week high of $315.73.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 10.40%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.00 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $254.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $309.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $291.64.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total transaction of $2,103,020.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 33,267 shares in the company, valued at $9,853,685.40. This represents a 17.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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. This trade represents a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $6,892,280. Corporate 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.