Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Increases Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 98.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 63,029 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 31,257 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $20,177,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Centennial Bank AR purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,750.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 0.7%

AJG stock opened at $308.09 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $78.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.76 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $297.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $316.87. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $275.56 and a 52 week high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by ($0.03). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%.The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $344.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $369.00 to $365.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 19th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $317.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $328.80.

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

In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total value of $2,396,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 100,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,186,742.58. This represents a 7.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total value of $3,825,648.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 85,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,569,792. This represents a 13.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 29,855 shares of company stock valued at $8,916,928. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co engages in the provision of insurance brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party claims settlement and administration services. It operates through the following segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.