Raymond James & Associates Increases Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 1.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 358,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,779 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned about 0.16% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $93,074,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Values First Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. now owns 1,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 32.6% during the second quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 17,043 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,633,000 after buying an additional 4,192 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 80.4% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,106 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $277,000 after buying an additional 493 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter valued at $121,000. Finally, Sawgrass Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sawgrass Asset Management LLC now owns 3,762 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $976,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.2 %

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded up $0.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $285.08. 774,860 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 844,038. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $215.37 and a twelve month high of $290.31. The company has a market cap of $62.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a fifty day moving average of $270.46 and a 200-day moving average of $253.67.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.02. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 10.41%. The business had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.15 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, President Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.96, for a total transaction of $4,244,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 329,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $93,121,853.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.45, for a total value of $2,634,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 93,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,693,168.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.96, for a total value of $4,244,400.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 329,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $93,121,853.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 49,998 shares of company stock worth $13,767,866. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AJG shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $267.00 in a research report on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $275.38.

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.