LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Has $2.62 Million Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 43.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,288 shares during the quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $2,624,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 26.3% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 226,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,269,000 after purchasing an additional 47,181 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 107.2% during the 1st quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 9,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,184,000 after acquiring an additional 4,773 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 100,388 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,603,000 after acquiring an additional 4,742 shares in the last quarter. Telligent Fund LP boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Telligent Fund LP now owns 11,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,901,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 57,383 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,811,000 after acquiring an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

AJG stock opened at $289.02 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $74.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.05 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.36. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $274.25 and a 52-week high of $351.23. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $311.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $322.82.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by ($0.03). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 36.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AJG. Barclays lowered their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $371.00 to $373.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group lowered their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $345.00 to $322.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $329.15.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director owned 45,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,502,278.92. The trade was a 2.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total transaction of $4,645,755.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 11,941 shares in the company, valued at $4,109,256.33. This trade represents a 53.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $8,528,080 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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.