Marino Stram & Associates LLC Increases Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Marino Stram & Associates LLC increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 7.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,963 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 286 shares during the quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $1,368,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at $382,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 337.7% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $921,000 after purchasing an additional 2,502 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Seven Grand Managers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth about $7,096,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 68,124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,337,000 after buying an additional 12,730 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG stock opened at $316.07 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.74 and a beta of 0.74. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $251.42 and a one year high of $351.23. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $331.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $317.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 14.83% and a net margin of 14.39%. The company had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 billion. The business’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.45 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 37.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AJG shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $372.00 to $371.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 9th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $326.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $319.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total transaction of $2,505,260.90. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 90,020 shares in the company, valued at $30,029,771.80. This represents a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total value of $4,645,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,109,256.33. The trade was a 53.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 32,510 shares of company stock valued at $11,033,341. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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.