Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS trimmed its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG – Free Report) by 1.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 336,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,125 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. comprises approximately 1.3% of Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS owned about 0.16% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $64,423,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,431,788,000. Boston Partners bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter valued at about $418,715,000. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 40.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,143,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $404,069,000 after acquiring an additional 619,008 shares during the last quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at about $116,254,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 583.5% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 456,737 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $86,113,000 after buying an additional 389,914 shares in the last quarter. 85.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.8 %
Shares of NYSE:AJG traded up $1.72 during trading on Friday, reaching $224.37. 335,237 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 744,559. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $215.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $203.58. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $167.93 and a 52-week high of $226.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $48.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.70.
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.04. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 12.11% and a return on equity of 18.65%. The firm had revenue of $2.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.70 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Investors of record on Friday, September 1st will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 31st. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.88%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, VP Joel D. Cavaness sold 2,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.23, for a total value of $561,632.50. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,023 shares in the company, valued at $413,157.29. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.40, for a total value of $216,400.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 46,538 shares in the company, valued at $10,070,823.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Joel D. Cavaness sold 2,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.23, for a total transaction of $561,632.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,023 shares in the company, valued at $413,157.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
AJG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $215.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Friday, April 28th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $212.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Friday, June 16th. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $245.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $233.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $247.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $229.08.
View Our Latest Stock Report on AJG
About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
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 businesses and organizations 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.
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