Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC Invests $239,000 in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $239,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AJG. Norges Bank bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,421,591,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,672,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,422,435,000 after acquiring an additional 3,851,661 shares during the period. Winslow Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at about $719,489,000. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,199,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,327,403,000 after acquiring an additional 1,910,471 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 162.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,822,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $801,115,000 after acquiring an additional 1,745,283 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of AJG opened at $316.38 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $331.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $317.21. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $251.42 and a one year high of $351.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The company has a market capitalization of $81.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.52 and a beta of 0.74.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.45 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 37.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total value 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. This represents a 7.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total value of $342,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 45,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,502,278.92. This trade represents a 2.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 32,510 shares of company stock valued at $11,033,341. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AJG. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $372.00 to $371.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Barclays upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $326.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $319.29.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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.