Aberdeen Group plc Buys 172,165 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group increased its AJG stake by 89.6% in the third quarter, buying 172,165 shares to hold 364,394 shares valued at about $91 million. Other institutional investors also added shares, and institutions collectively owned 85.53% of the company.
• Analysts held a Moderate Buy consensus, with 13 Buy and seven Hold ratings and an average price target of $292.32.
• Quarterly EPS of $3.00 narrowly beat estimates, while revenue of $3.92 billion came in below forecasts but grew 19.6% year over year. Company insiders sold 105,616 shares worth about $29.2 million over the past 90 days.

Aberdeen Group plc grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 89.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 364,394 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 172,165 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.14% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $90,996,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AJG. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 495.4% in the third quarter. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC now owns 186,275 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,491,000 after acquiring an additional 154,990 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4,834.0% during the third quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 176,785 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $40,326,000 after purchasing an additional 173,202 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 38.4% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,611 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,052,000 after purchasing an additional 1,279 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 25.3% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 303,176 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $72,848,000 after purchasing an additional 61,288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. now owns 21,601 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,927,000 after purchasing an additional 4,089 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AJG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Seaport Research Partners upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $295.00 to $319.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Citigroup cut Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $285.00 to $300.00 in a report on Monday, November 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $299.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $302.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $292.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, VP William F. Ziebell sold 23,510 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.62, for a total value of $6,738,436.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 48,942 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,027,756.04. This represents a 32.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 30,996 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.15, for a total value of $8,528,549.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 92,961 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,578,219.15. This represents a 25.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 105,616 shares of company stock worth $29,193,156. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 1.9%

NYSE:AJG opened at $282.60 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $251.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $233.96. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $190.75 and a 12 month high of $294.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market cap of $72.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.47.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.99 by $0.01. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.39% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The firm had revenue of $3.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.32 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.13 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 7th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 7th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.81%.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. is a global insurance brokerage and risk management services firm. It helps businesses and other organizations assess and manage risk, arrange insurance coverage, and address employee benefits needs. The company's services include insurance brokerage, risk management consulting, employee benefits consulting, and claims and settlement services through its Gallagher Bassett business. It serves clients in the United States and internationally, including through a network of correspondent brokers.

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