MQS Management LLC Takes Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 1,161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $372,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AJG. J.Safra Asset Management Corp lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 209.1% in the second quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Centennial Bank AR purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,750.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total value of $2,396,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 100,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,186,742.58. The trade was a 7.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total value of $3,825,648.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,569,792. The trade was a 13.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,855 shares of company stock valued at $8,916,928 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

AJG stock opened at $281.01 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $298.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $312.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market cap of $72.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.92 and a beta of 0.73. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $275.56 and a 52-week high of $351.23.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AJG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $288.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $331.43.

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.