Amundi Boosts Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 1.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 939,835 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,250 shares during the period. Amundi owned about 0.37% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $203,549,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AJG. Dearborn Partners LLC lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 133,936 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,661,000 after acquiring an additional 7,946 shares during the last quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth $3,571,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 154,404 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,965,000 after buying an additional 44,824 shares in the last quarter. SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,371,000. Finally, Annex Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 102,631 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $26,560,000 after buying an additional 7,478 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AJG shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $250.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $235.00 to $265.00 in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $280.35.

Key Stories Impacting Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Here are the key news stories impacting Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Adjusted earnings beat expectations: Second-quarter adjusted earnings were $2.84 per share, $0.03 above the consensus estimate and up from $2.33 a year earlier. Arthur J. Gallagher Q2 Earnings Meet Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Strong top-line growth and capital returns: Revenue before reimbursements rose 24.3% year over year to approximately $3.96 billion. Brokerage and Risk Management revenue also increased 24%, including 6% organic growth, while Gallagher repurchased about 900,000 shares for roughly $170 million. Arthur J. Gallagher Q2 Revenue Rises
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend maintained: Gallagher declared a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, payable September 18 to shareholders of record September 8, supporting the income component of the investment case. Arthur J. Gallagher Announces Third Quarter Dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Board transition: The company announced the passing of director David Johnson and changes to board leadership. The development is unlikely to materially affect near-term earnings but adds a governance transition to monitor. Arthur J. Gallagher Announces Passing of Director David Johnson
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue and reported profit disappointed: Quarterly revenue of $3.95 billion was below the roughly $4.01 billion analyst forecast. Reported net income declined to $324 million from $368 million, with diluted GAAP EPS falling to $1.25 from $1.40, creating a mixed headline despite the adjusted EPS beat.
• Negative Sentiment: Sector growth concerns remain: Investors are questioning whether Gallagher’s approximately 6% organic growth can hold as insurance pricing conditions normalize, particularly after a peer reported weak underlying growth. Arthur J. Gallagher Slides Ahead of Earnings

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 4.6%

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $256.46 on Friday. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $230.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $224.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $190.75 and a 12-month high of $313.55. The company has a market cap of $65.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.50.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 10.76%.The company had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.33 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be 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 is Tuesday, September 8th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AJG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.