Running Oak Capital LLC Has $16.95 Million Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Running Oak Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 5.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 54,724 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,857 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. accounts for about 1.9% of Running Oak Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Running Oak Capital LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $16,950,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,096,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,954,625,000 after buying an additional 685,278 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,743,493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,439,207,000 after acquiring an additional 117,646 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter worth $1,536,230,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 26.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,866,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $887,976,000 after purchasing an additional 593,483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,464,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $783,097,000 after purchasing an additional 128,071 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.11, for a total value of $1,032,440.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 17,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,472,271.97. This represents a 18.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.00, for a total value of $1,566,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 50,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,224,348. This represents a 10.59% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 32,100 shares of company stock valued at $8,243,865 over the last 90 days. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AJG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $300.00 price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Friday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $311.00 to $298.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $353.00 to $334.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Needham & Company LLC set a $272.00 target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $249.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $284.12.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE AJG opened at $245.46 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $253.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $275.67. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $236.34 and a 1 year high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 12.13%. The company had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.12 EPS. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 42.28%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.

The company’s core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.