Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Buys New Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 801 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,214,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $551,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 22,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,040,000 after purchasing an additional 967 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $205,000. Finally, NorthRock Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $246,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total value of $2,103,020.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 33,267 shares in the company, valued at $9,853,685.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 8,303 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.74, for a total value of $2,181,530.22. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 36,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,560,583.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $9,853,685.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 55,448 shares of company stock worth $15,445,930 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $297.39 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $65.16 billion, a PE ratio of 60.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $283.34 and its 200-day moving average is $261.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $218.63 and a 52 week high of $300.66.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 19.25%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.90 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 48.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on AJG shares. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $300.00 price objective on the stock. Bank Of America (Bofa) lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $252.00 to $254.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $276.82.

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.