Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Purchased by Apollon Wealth Management LLC

Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 24.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 7,202 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,429 shares during the quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $2,486,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth $1,421,591,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,672,134 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,422,435,000 after purchasing an additional 3,851,661 shares in the last quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $719,489,000. Capital World Investors lifted its stake 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 valued at $2,327,403,000 after buying an additional 1,910,471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 162.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,822,319 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $801,115,000 after buying an additional 1,745,283 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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 sale, the insider owned 11,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,109,256.33. The trade was 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 accessible through this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.17, for a total value of $3,540,285.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 91,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,741,474.75. The trade was a 10.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $8,528,080. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on AJG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $372.00 to $371.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 9th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $318.21.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded up $4.36 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $314.28. 710,704 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,391,522. The firm has a market cap of $80.49 billion, a PE ratio of 45.48 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $267.00 and a 1 year high of $351.23. The stock's fifty day moving average is $326.18 and its 200 day moving average is $320.96.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.45 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.63%.

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.