NorthRock Partners LLC Acquires 1,216 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 146.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,046 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,216 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $581,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 205.4% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. 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 for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $307.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $318.57.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 90,020 shares in the company, valued at $30,029,771.80. This trade represents a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

AJG stock traded up $1.35 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $343.59. The company had a trading volume of 610,927 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,314,752. The company has a market capitalization of $87.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.70 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. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $330.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $312.07.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.85 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 16.47%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.45 EPS. On average, research 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.63%.

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.