Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 409,145 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 14.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,242,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 409,145 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $702,182,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% in the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Prosperity Bancshares Inc acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 668.2% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AJG. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $275.00 to $278.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $242.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wolfe Research cut shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $618,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 47,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,850,714. This trade represents a 5.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $260.95 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $217.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $225.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.50. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $190.75 and a fifty-two week high of $316.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.04. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The company had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.31%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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.