Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Acquired by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 219.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,043,769 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 717,221 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.48% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $270,660,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its position in 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 worth $29,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at $30,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 6,335 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.06, for a total value of $1,799,520.10. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 30,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,536,855.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 6,335 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.06, for a total transaction of $1,799,520.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 30,053 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,536,855.18. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total transaction of $2,103,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 33,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,853,685.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 44,145 shares of company stock worth $12,622,660 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AJG shares. Barclays assumed coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a report on Friday, July 26th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Bank Of America (Bofa) upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $267.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $282.93.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 1.0 %

AJG stock opened at $277.93 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $218.63 and a twelve month high of $301.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $60.73 billion, a PE ratio of 56.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.72. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $286.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $263.48.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.77 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 10.41%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is currently 48.58%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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.

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