Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Has $503.40 Million Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 28.4% during the 1st quarter, now owning 1,458,113 shares valued at approximately $503.4 million.
• Insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares for over $4.6 million, reducing her stake by 53.06%, while other insiders sold a total of 25,000 shares worth around $8.5 million in the last quarter.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, with an expected annual yield of 0.9% and a payout ratio of 36.93%.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 28.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,458,113 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 322,861 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 0.57% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $503,399,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Centennial Bank AR acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. Motco increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 700.0% during the 1st quarter. Motco now owns 112 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of 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, Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,750.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $371.00 to $373.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $345.00 to $322.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Barclays decreased 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 report on Monday, July 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $329.15.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider directly owned 11,941 shares in the company, valued at $4,109,256.33. This trade represents a 53.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $30,741,474.75. This trade represents a 10.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $8,528,080 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE AJG traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $290.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,726,231 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,608,295. The stock has a market cap of $74.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.21 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.44. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $274.25 and a one year high of $351.23. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $312.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $322.59.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.93%.

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.