Capital International Investors Cuts Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Capital International Investors trimmed its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJGFree Report) by 12.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 6,280,455 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 914,288 shares during the period. Capital International Investors’ holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $1,625,559,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AJG. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,925,062,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,338,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,299,674,000 after buying an additional 3,330,205 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9,244.9% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,053,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $272,670,000 after buying an additional 1,042,361 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,107,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $962,483,000 after acquiring an additional 725,555 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,270,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,013,100,000 after acquiring an additional 395,304 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 2.6%

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $216.58 on Friday. 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. has a 12-month low of $190.75 and a 12-month high of $330.78. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $210.49 and a 200 day moving average of $229.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.52.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJGGet Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The company had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.67 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s quarterly revenue was up 29.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

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 issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on AJG. Barclays upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $262.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Citigroup raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $280.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $259.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $275.00 to $278.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.00.

View Our Latest Research Report on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $618,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 47,819 shares in the company, valued at $9,850,714. The trade was a 5.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

(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.

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

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