19,392 Shares in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Bought by Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc.

Key Points

• Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d'investissement inc. opened a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., buying 19,392 shares valued at about $4.2 million in the first quarter.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $4.47 beating estimates and revenue rising 29% year over year to $4.71 billion.
• The company continues to draw bullish sentiment from Wall Street, with several analysts raising price targets and a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average target price of $280.35.

Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 19,392 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,200,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Avalon Trust Co purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Prosperity Bancshares Inc purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG stock opened at $255.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $190.75 and a fifty-two week high of $316.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $220.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $225.47. The company has a market capitalization of $65.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.38, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.50.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.04. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 10.76%.The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.67 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AJG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $235.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price target for the company from $280.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $280.35.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $618,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 47,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,850,714. The trade was a 5.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.

The company's core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.

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