AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs Acquires New Shares in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs made a significant investment in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by acquiring 9,330 shares valued at approximately $3.24 million.
• Insider selling was observed, with VP Scott R. Hudson selling 12,855 shares and CFO Douglas K. Howell selling 3,000 shares, reflecting a decrease in their ownership stakes.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65, with a scheduled payment date of September 19th, representing a 0.9% dividend yield.

AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 9,330 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,242,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at about $252,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 683,206 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $193,928,000 after acquiring an additional 23,182 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 146.5% during the fourth quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 2,046 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $581,000 after acquiring an additional 1,216 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,335,000. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 34,813 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,882,000 after acquiring an additional 1,793 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE:AJG traded up $2.10 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $291.50. 1,175,641 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,528,123. The company's 50 day moving average is $299.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $319.08. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $274.25 and a twelve month high of $351.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market capitalization of $74.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.41 and a beta of 0.72.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.36 by ($0.03). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%.The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AJG. UBS Group lowered their price target on 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $371.00 to $373.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $317.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $333.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.78, for a total value of $899,340.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 114,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,407,849.06. This represents a 2.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,569,792. This trade represents a 13.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.