Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Purchased by ABN Amro Investment Solutions

Key Points

• ABN Amro Investment Solutions boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 216% in the fourth quarter, ending with 12,399 shares valued at about $3.2 million.
• Several other large institutional investors also increased holdings, and institutions now own 85.53% of AJG shares, indicating strong professional investor interest.
• Analysts remain broadly positive despite some lower price targets: AJG has a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target of $264, while the stock recently traded at $204.89 after reporting better-than-expected quarterly EPS and announcing a $0.70 quarterly dividend.

ABN Amro Investment Solutions increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 216.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,399 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,475 shares during the quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions' holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $3,209,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AJG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,338,533 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,299,674,000 after buying an additional 3,330,205 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9,244.9% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,053,636 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $272,670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,042,361 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.5% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,107,390 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $962,483,000 after purchasing an additional 725,555 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 26.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,866,786 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $887,976,000 after purchasing an additional 593,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,270,807 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,013,100,000 after purchasing an additional 395,304 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AJG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $240.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $235.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group set a $240.00 price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Thursday. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $259.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $260.00 price target for the company. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $264.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG opened at $204.89 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average is $211.64 and its 200-day moving average is $232.49. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $190.75 and a fifty-two week high of $351.23. The company has a market capitalization of $52.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.04. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 10.76%.The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.67 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 29.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $908,480.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 19,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,384,778.72. This represents a 17.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total value of $864,766.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at $19,552,814.40. This represents a 4.24% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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.

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