4,315 Shares in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Purchased by WBI Investments LLC

Key Points

• WBI Investments LLC acquired 4,315 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., valued at approximately $1.49 million, during the first quarter of the year.
• Recent adjustments by various institutional investors saw increased stakes in the company, highlighting strong institutional interest with 85.53% of the stock owned by such investors.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on the stock, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price of approximately $333.13, while some firms have assigned strong buy ratings.

WBI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 4,315 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,490,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% in the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,899 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,001,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.8% in the first quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 3,812 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,289,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.1% in the first quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 1,603 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $553,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. City Holding Co. boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.1% in the first quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 1,140 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 34.3% in the first quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 133 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on AJG. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $345.00 to $322.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $344.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $333.13.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total value of $3,825,648.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 85,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,569,792. This represents a 13.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $292.92 on Thursday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $301.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $320.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.10 billion, a PE ratio of 41.61 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $274.25 and a 1-year high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%.The business's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. As a group, analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.93%.

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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