Shellback Capital LP Acquires New Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Shellback Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 166,634 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $47,299,000. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. accounts for 3.3% of Shellback Capital LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Shellback Capital LP owned 0.07% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,672,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,422,435,000 after purchasing an additional 3,851,661 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 10,067,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,857,737,000 after buying an additional 305,876 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,199,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,327,403,000 after buying an additional 1,910,471 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,277,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,779,248,000 after acquiring an additional 787,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,421,591,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total transaction of $2,505,260.90. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 90,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,029,771.80. This represents a 7.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $338.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.51. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $330.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $311.28. The company has a market capitalization of $86.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.87 and a beta of 0.78. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $244.60 and a 52-week high of $350.70.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.85 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 16.47%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.45 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 37.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AJG has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $307.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $318.57.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

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