Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 45.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,985 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $2,383,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UBS Group AG grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 361,441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $81,281,000 after buying an additional 28,359 shares during the period. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $514,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 112,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,206,000 after buying an additional 15,528 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at about $979,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 92,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,713,000 after buying an additional 2,821 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

AJG traded down $0.82 on Friday, reaching $259.31. The company had a trading volume of 1,393,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 978,833. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $251.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $242.59. The company has a market cap of $56.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $210.86 and a 52-week high of $266.39.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 18.94%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.03 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.08 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.58%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 16,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.41, for a total value of $3,974,560.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,109,286.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.45, for a total transaction of $2,634,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 93,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,693,168.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 16,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.41, for a total transaction of $3,974,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,952 shares in the company, valued at $20,109,286.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 53,165 shares of company stock valued at $13,629,049 over the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AJG shares. Argus increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $274.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $282.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $253.00 to $252.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $263.00.

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 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.