Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Stock Holdings Lifted by PFG Advisors

PFG Advisors grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 32,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,522 shares during the period. PFG Advisors’ holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $10,156,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the third quarter valued at about $753,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,294,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 335,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $103,839,000 after acquiring an additional 5,313 shares in the last quarter. Bowie Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,893,000. Finally, Korea Investment CORP raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 148,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,085,000 after acquiring an additional 7,111 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AJG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $279.00 to $249.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $289.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Mizuho raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, February 27th. Evercore lowered their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $353.00 to $334.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Monday, December 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $281.76.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 0.5%

AJG opened at $228.40 on Monday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $195.00 and a 1-year high of $351.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a 50 day moving average of $239.88 and a 200-day moving average of $263.15.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 12.13%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s quarterly revenue was up 33.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 45.53%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.05, for a total transaction of $1,290,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 95,777 shares in the company, valued at $24,715,254.85. The trade was a 4.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.11, for a total value of $1,032,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 17,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,472,271.97. This trade represents a 18.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,850 shares of company stock valued at $6,364,440. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.

The company’s core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.