Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Purchased by ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 33.5%, owning 118,559 shares valued at approximately $37.95 million as of the end of the second quarter.
• Equities research analysts have mixed ratings on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., with one Strong Buy, six Buy, eight Hold, and one Sell, resulting in an average price target of $330.93.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $2.33 EPS, missing estimates by $0.03, with revenue of $3.18 billion, representing a year-over-year increase of 16%.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 33.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 118,559 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 29,752 shares during the quarter. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.'s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $37,951,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter valued at $25,000. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter valued at $34,000. Centennial Bank AR acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,750.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AJG shares. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $317.00 price objective on the stock. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $330.93.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $305.83 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.44 and a beta of 0.73. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $297.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $317.02. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $275.56 and a 12-month high of $351.23.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.93%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total value of $3,825,648.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at $25,569,792. This trade represents a 13.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total value of $2,396,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 100,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,186,742.58. This represents a 7.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 29,855 shares of company stock worth $8,916,928. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

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.

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