Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $249.24 Million Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 231.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 885,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 618,362 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $249,237,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 89.7% during the 2nd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.70, for a total transaction of $1,992,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,626,666.10. This represents a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,211,438. The trade was a 16.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

AJG opened at $279.09 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $292.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $282.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.72 billion, a PE ratio of 53.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.74. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $218.63 and a 52 week high of $316.72.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, meeting 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 business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.12 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, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 45.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AJG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $254.00 to $293.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.57.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

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.