Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec Grows Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 24.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 126,042 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 25,029 shares during the period. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $43,525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,411,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,499,185,000 after buying an additional 739,130 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 38.3% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,372,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,997,767,000 after buying an additional 4,815,007 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.9% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,959,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,021,798,000 after buying an additional 137,354 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.4% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,364,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $816,409,000 after purchasing an additional 9,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.3% in the first quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,336,591 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $796,217,000 after purchasing an additional 7,594 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE AJG opened at $302.75 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $77.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.00 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.36. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $304.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $321.38. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $274.25 and a fifty-two week high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $345.00 to $322.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $317.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $371.00 to $373.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $331.07.

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.