KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Purchases 2,900 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 85,710 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,900 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $29,591,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth $25,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 205.4% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Centennial Bank AR bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG stock traded up $6.09 on Friday, hitting $315.15. 897,383 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,269,745. The firm's 50 day moving average is $322.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $322.73. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $267.00 and a one year high of $351.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.71 billion, a PE ratio of 45.61 and a beta of 0.71.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $372.00 to $371.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target 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. Erste Group Bank reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target 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 report on Monday, July 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $318.21.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total value of $342,040.00. Following the sale, the director owned 45,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,502,278.92. The trade was a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the business's 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 directly owned 91,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,741,474.75. This trade represents a 10.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,528,080 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

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.