Ethic Inc. Has $8.12 Million Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Ethic Inc. raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,590 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 803 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $8,115,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth $1,421,591,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,672,134 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,422,435,000 after purchasing an additional 3,851,661 shares during the last quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth $719,489,000. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,199,413 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,327,403,000 after acquiring an additional 1,910,471 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 162.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,822,319 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $801,115,000 after buying an additional 1,745,283 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AJG traded up $1.68 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $332.96. 1,002,952 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,312,603. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $244.60 and a one year 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 stock has a market cap of $85.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.07 and a beta of 0.78. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $330.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $310.63.

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. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 16.47%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.45 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.63%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total transaction of $2,505,260.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 90,020 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,029,771.80. The trade was a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 44,783 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,422,812.98. The trade was a 0.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AJG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of 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. Barclays upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $315.33.

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.