MQS Management LLC Purchases New Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 2,663 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $749,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AJG. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 180.6% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,228,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $307,076,000 after purchasing an additional 790,467 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,050,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,763,177,000 after purchasing an additional 727,325 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 219.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,043,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $270,660,000 after buying an additional 717,221 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 231.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 885,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $249,237,000 after buying an additional 618,362 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,832,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,208,208,000 after acquiring an additional 398,350 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AJG. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $241.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Bank of America raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Bank Of America (Bofa) upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.14.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total value of $2,103,020.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 33,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,853,685.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.68, for a total value of $1,992,760.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,625,146.84. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total value of $2,103,020.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 33,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,853,685.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $6,892,280 in the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.8 %

AJG opened at $295.20 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.23, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $288.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $273.94. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $218.63 and a twelve month high of $301.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 19.12%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.00 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.71%.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.