Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Increases Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Key Points

• Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 62.8%, owning 75,874 shares valued at approximately $25.85 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Analysts have mostly rated the stock as a "Hold," with a consensus target price of $318.21, reflecting mixed opinions on its performance.
• Recent insider trades included significant sales by executives, with a total of 25,000 shares sold, indicating a 53.06% decrease in an insider's position.

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 62.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 75,874 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 29,280 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $25,855,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AJG. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,899 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Allen Capital Group LLC increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 1,603 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Allred Capital Management LLC increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Allred Capital Management LLC now owns 3,380 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $960,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. City Holding Co. increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 1,140 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 34.3% during the 1st quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 133 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG traded down $0.00 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $288.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,087,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,517,298. The company has a 50-day moving average of $321.08 and a 200-day moving average of $322.91. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $274.25 and a 12 month 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. The firm has a market cap of $73.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.74 and a beta of 0.71.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 in the prior year, the business earned $3.45 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 45,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,502,278.92. This represents a 2.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $30,741,474.75. This represents a 10.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,528,080. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on AJG shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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 report on Wednesday, July 9th. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of 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. 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 note on Monday, July 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $322.31.

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.