Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 67,424 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 3.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,070,661 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 67,424 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.81% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $714,876,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AJG. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,672,134 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,422,435,000 after purchasing an additional 3,851,661 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 10,067,647 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,857,737,000 after buying an additional 305,876 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,199,413 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,327,403,000 after buying an additional 1,910,471 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,277,993 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,779,248,000 after buying an additional 787,265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,421,591,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AJG has been the subject of several research reports. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Barclays increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $326.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $319.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the 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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total transaction of $4,645,755.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 11,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,109,256.33. This trade represents a 53.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 in the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG stock traded up $0.76 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $316.50. The company had a trading volume of 639,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,378,055. The company has a market capitalization of $81.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.80 and a beta of 0.71. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $328.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $319.17. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $260.83 and a 52-week high of $351.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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.