Junto Capital Management LP Buys Shares of 345,300 Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Junto Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 345,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $98,013,000. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. makes up about 1.9% of Junto Capital Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Junto Capital Management LP owned 0.14% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,672,134 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,422,435,000 after purchasing an additional 3,851,661 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 10,067,647 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,857,737,000 after purchasing an additional 305,876 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,199,413 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,327,403,000 after purchasing an additional 1,910,471 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,277,993 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,779,248,000 after purchasing an additional 787,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth about $1,421,591,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AJG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $307.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $315.33.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

AJG traded down $2.91 on Wednesday, hitting $329.79. 898,453 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,313,323. The company has a 50 day moving average of $330.15 and a 200-day moving average of $310.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.46 billion, a PE ratio of 50.58 and a beta of 0.78. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $244.60 and a 12-month high of $350.70.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.45 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total value 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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.