Longbow Finance SA Acquires Shares of 11,879 Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Key Points

• Longbow Finance SA has acquired 11,879 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., valued at approximately $4.1 million, as part of a wave of institutional investment in the company.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. recently reported earnings of $3.67 per share for the last quarter, surpassing expectations, although their revenue fell short of forecasts at $3.69 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 0.84% and a payout ratio of 37.63%.

Longbow Finance SA acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 11,879 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,101,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,421,591,000. Winslow Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at $719,489,000. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $2,327,403,000 after purchasing an additional 1,910,471 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake 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 worth $801,115,000 after acquiring an additional 1,745,283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1,511.2% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,758,166 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $499,055,000 after acquiring an additional 1,649,046 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays dropped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $372.00 to $371.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $318.21.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 2.0%

NYSE AJG traded up $6.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $315.15. 897,383 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,269,745. The stock has a market cap of $80.71 billion, a PE ratio of 45.61 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $322.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $322.73. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $267.00 and a 52 week high of $351.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.85 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 14.83% and a net margin of 14.39%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.45 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total transaction of $4,645,755.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 11,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,109,256.33. This represents a 53.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total value of $342,040.00. Following the sale, the director owned 45,323 shares in the company, valued at $15,502,278.92. This trade represents a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,528,080 over the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.