1,026 Shares in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Purchased by Consolidated Planning Corp

Key Points

• Consolidated Planning Corp purchased 1,026 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. for approximately $328,000, marking the firm's recent entry into an increasing trend of institutional investments in the company.
• Arthur J. Gallagher reported a slight earnings miss for the last quarter with earnings per share of $2.33, compared to analyst expectations of $2.36, while revenue rose 16% year-over-year.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 0.8%, indicating its commitment to returning capital to shareholders.

Consolidated Planning Corp purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,026 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $328,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth about $25,000. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Centennial Bank AR purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Motco raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 700.0% during the first quarter. Motco now owns 112 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of AJG stock opened at $308.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.76 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $297.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $316.87. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $275.56 and a fifty-two week high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is 36.93%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total transaction of $3,825,648.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at $25,569,792. The trade was a 13.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total transaction of $2,396,320.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 100,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,186,742.58. This trade represents a 7.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,855 shares of company stock valued at $8,916,928 in the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $288.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $328.80.

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.

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