1832 Asset Management L.P. Buys 9,581 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 19.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 59,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,581 shares during the quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $14,984,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 343 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 2,395 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $539,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $246,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $218,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ERn Financial LLC lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. ERn Financial LLC now owns 2,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $636,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

NYSE AJG traded up $9.61 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $283.58. 1,161,116 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 713,993. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $261.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $248.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $214.13 and a 1 year high of $283.90. The company has a market cap of $61.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.72.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.02. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.56% and a net margin of 10.41%. The company had revenue of $2.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 48.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $282.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Bank Of America (Bofa) boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $267.00 in a report on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $273.27.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, Director David S. Johnson sold 850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.84, for a total value of $219,164.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 45,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,630,646.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director David S. Johnson sold 850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.84, for a total value of $219,164.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 45,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,630,646.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 8,303 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.74, for a total value of $2,181,530.22. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 36,388 shares in the company, valued at $9,560,583.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 53,165 shares of company stock valued at $13,629,049 in the last ninety days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.