Alley Investment Management Company LLC Has $21.04 Million Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Alley Investment Management Company LLC boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 1.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,954 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 974 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. makes up approximately 2.6% of Alley Investment Management Company LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Alley Investment Management Company LLC's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $21,044,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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. increased its position 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 worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on AJG. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $372.00 to $371.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $319.29.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 1.2%

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded down $3.94 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $315.55. 1,450,847 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,374,883. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.67 and a beta of 0.71. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $257.77 and a 12 month high of $351.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $329.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $318.99.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.85 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.39% and a return on equity of 14.83%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.45 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is 37.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total value of $342,040.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 45,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,502,278.92. The trade was a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.17, for a total transaction of $3,540,285.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 91,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,741,474.75. This represents a 10.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,528,080 over the last 90 days. Company 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.