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Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $568.62 Million Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. logo with Finance background

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 126.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,003,237 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,117,441 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.80% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $568,619,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AJG. Creative Planning increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 59,653 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $16,785,000 after purchasing an additional 2,537 shares in the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $330,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 22,722 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,393,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,169 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $610,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonegate Investment Group LLC boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.3% during the third quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 1,102 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total transaction of $3,229,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 69,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,536,304.26. This represents a 12.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total transaction of $877,569.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,440,499.14. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,725 shares of company stock worth $4,972,964. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG traded down $2.05 during trading on Thursday, reaching $325.28. 876,411 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,769,109. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $230.08 and a 12 month high of $329.60. The company has a 50 day moving average of $296.26 and a 200-day moving average of $292.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.89 and a beta of 0.77.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 16.47%. On average, equities analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.65 dividend. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is 36.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on AJG. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $313.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $307.00.

View Our Latest Stock Report on AJG

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

(Free Report)

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 business segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.

See Also

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

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