Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Bought by Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.

Key Points

• Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 92.1% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 12,037 shares and bringing its total to 25,109 shares valued at approximately $8.67 million.
• Analysts have mixed views on the stock, with Cantor Fitzgerald upgrading it to a "strong-buy" while Wall Street Zen downgraded it from "hold" to "sell," resulting in a consensus rating of "Hold."
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, with a 0.9% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 36.93% as of the upcoming payment date on September 19th.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 92.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,109 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 12,037 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $8,669,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 22.5% during the first quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $388,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at $382,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,750.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,280 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,879,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seven Grand Managers LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at $7,096,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on AJG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Erste Group Bank reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $345.00 to $322.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $317.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $331.07.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG traded down $0.79 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $292.62. 1,237,379 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,665,758. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $308.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $322.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $274.25 and a fifty-two week high of $351.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.03 billion, a PE ratio of 41.57 and a beta of 0.68.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.93%.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.17, for a total value of $3,540,285.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 91,175 shares in the company, valued at $30,741,474.75. This trade represents a 10.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total value of $4,645,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Company insiders own 1.60% 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.