Citigroup Inc. Buys 153,884 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Citigroup Inc. increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 101.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 305,002 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 153,884 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $85,819,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. W Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.4% in the third quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 1,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $426,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 4,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,289,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Covenant Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% in the third quarter. Covenant Partners LLC now owns 5,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,499,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% in the third quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC now owns 5,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,635,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Seelaus Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% during the third quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 5,481 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $304.29 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.96, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $288.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $276.73. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $218.63 and a 1 year high of $308.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 10.40%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.00 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.11 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 45.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on AJG. TD Cowen upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $309.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $241.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $254.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $289.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total transaction of $803,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at $4,211,438. This trade represents a 16.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 transaction, the president now owns 33,267 shares in the company, valued at $9,853,685.40. This represents a 17.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $6,892,280 in the last ninety days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.