Close Asset Management Ltd Has $106.17 Million Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Close Asset Management Ltd trimmed its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 21.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 307,429 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 85,215 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. makes up approximately 3.0% of Close Asset Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Close Asset Management Ltd owned 0.12% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $106,166,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 22.5% during the 1st quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $388,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth $382,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 948 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,280 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,879,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded up $6.09 on Friday, reaching $315.15. 897,383 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,269,745. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $322.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $322.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.61 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $267.00 and a fifty-two week high of $351.23.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 11,941 shares of the company's stock, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 91,175 shares in the company, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,528,080. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AJG shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $372.00 to $371.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays cut their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on 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. Finally, Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $318.21.

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.