Challenger Wealth Management Invests $355,000 in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Challenger Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,252 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $355,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,214 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,384 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $393,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Simon Quick Advisors LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $229,000. Mutual Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 1,790 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $530,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 7,159 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,032,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total transaction of $2,505,260.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 90,020 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,029,771.80. This trade represents a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total value of $4,645,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,109,256.33. This represents a 53.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,510 shares of company stock valued at $11,033,341 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE AJG traded up $3.44 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $345.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 318,993 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,550,441. The stock has a market cap of $88.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.97 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $332.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $314.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $244.60 and a 52 week high of $350.70.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 16.47%. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.45 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities 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 business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AJG shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of 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. Barclays upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price 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, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $318.57.

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.