Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 231.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 885,796 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 618,362 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.35% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $249,237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AJG. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth $26,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% in the third quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 89.7% in the second quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 110 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total value of $803,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,211,438. This represents a 16.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.70, for a total value of $1,992,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,626,666.10. This represents a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on AJG shares. Truist Financial raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $254.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $296.57.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AJG traded up $4.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $283.10. 2,759,934 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 991,802. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $292.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $282.72. The company has a market capitalization of $70.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.74. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $218.63 and a 52-week high of $316.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.26. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 19.12%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.00 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.12 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is 45.71%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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.