Janus Henderson Group PLC Acquires 169,172 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 12.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,499,875 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 169,172 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned 0.60% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $425,736,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 205.4% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 90,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,029,771.80. The trade was a 7.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total value of $3,229,900.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 69,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,536,304.26. This trade represents a 12.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,835 shares of company stock worth $5,839,830 over the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $338.67 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.94 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $330.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $310.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $244.60 and a 1-year high of $350.70.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.45 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 37.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on AJG shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target 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 raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $307.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $315.33.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.