Armis Advisers LLC Takes Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Armis Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 945 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $268,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 205.4% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on AJG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $307.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 target price on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $318.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total transaction of $342,040.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 45,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,502,278.92. This trade represents a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total value of $4,645,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,109,256.33. This represents a 53.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,510 shares of company stock valued at $11,033,341 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AJG traded up $5.74 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $347.64. 2,545,224 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,329,515. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $250.51 and a 12-month high of $350.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $89.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.32 and a beta of 0.78. The business's fifty day moving average price is $332.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $315.44.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.45 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is 37.63%.

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.