Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. Grows Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 19.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 95,610 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 15,700 shares during the quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $30,607,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.5% in the 1st 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. raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 38.3% in the 1st 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 raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.9% in the 1st 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 raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,364,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $816,409,000 after buying an additional 9,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,336,591 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $796,217,000 after buying 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

Shares of AJG opened at $292.52 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $75.00 billion, a PE ratio of 41.55 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $299.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $318.89. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $274.25 and a 12-month high of $351.23.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group lowered their price target 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. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $344.00 target price for the company. Barclays decreased 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $333.13.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total transaction of $3,825,648.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,569,792. This trade represents a 13.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.78, for a total value of $899,340.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 114,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,407,849.06. This represents a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.60% 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.