Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Reduces Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 72.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 118,821 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 318,643 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $41,022,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MRP Capital Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 205.4% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AJG. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. 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 target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $319.29.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, 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 transaction, the insider now owns 11,941 shares in the company, valued at $4,109,256.33. The trade was a 53.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total value of $2,505,260.90. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 90,020 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,029,771.80. This represents a 7.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 32,510 shares of company stock worth $11,033,341. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of AJG stock traded down $3.77 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $316.38. 1,038,988 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,344,334. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $251.42 and a fifty-two week high of $351.23. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $331.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $317.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $81.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.52 and a beta of 0.74.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. 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 firm earned $3.45 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is currently 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.