Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Boosts Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 1,032.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 185,305 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 168,939 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. makes up approximately 1.7% of Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $52,599,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allred Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Allred Capital Management LLC now owns 3,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $960,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $959,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $940,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 1,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brendel Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,054,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AJG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $307.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $315.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total transaction of $104,669.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 44,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,422,812.98. This trade represents a 0.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total value of $2,505,260.90. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 90,020 shares in the company, valued at $30,029,771.80. This trade represents a 7.70% 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. Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $338.67 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.94 and a beta of 0.78. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $330.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $310.29. 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 announced its 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.85 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

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

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.