National Pension Service Grows Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

National Pension Service lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJGFree Report) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 508,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,784 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $131,572,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $9,877,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,338,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,299,674,000 after buying an additional 3,330,205 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 65,889 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,398,000 after buying an additional 6,090 shares during the period. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 241.4% during the 3rd quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 49,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,332,000 after acquiring an additional 35,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cincinnati Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 3rd quarter worth about $42,824,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of AJG stock opened at $201.23 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $211.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $230.94. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $190.75 and a twelve month high of $351.23. The company has a market capitalization of $51.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJGGet Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.04. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 10.76%.The company had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.67 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 29.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.26 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.31%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $908,480.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 19,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,384,778.72. This trade represents a 17.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total value of $864,766.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at $19,552,814.40. This trade represents a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AJG shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $266.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $280.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $275.00 to $278.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $264.00.

Get Our Latest Research Report on AJG

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

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