Bain Capital Public Equity Management II LLC Invests $168.16 Million in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Bain Capital Public Equity Management II LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 592,420 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $168,158,000. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. makes up about 7.6% of Bain Capital Public Equity Management II LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Bain Capital Public Equity Management II LLC owned about 0.24% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted 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 worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 205.4% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 0.4 %

AJG traded up $1.34 on Wednesday, hitting $339.61. The company had a trading volume of 1,279,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,307,912. The company has a market cap of $86.85 billion, a PE ratio of 52.09 and a beta of 0.78. 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 business's fifty day simple moving average is $330.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $309.08. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $244.22 and a 12-month high of $350.70.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is presently 37.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AJG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $295.00 to $377.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $307.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $315.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total transaction of $104,669.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 44,783 shares in the company, valued at $14,422,812.98. The trade was a 0.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total transaction of $3,229,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 69,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,536,304.26. The trade was a 12.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,835 shares of company stock valued at $5,839,830. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.