Assetmark Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 17.5% in the first quarter, adding 12,822 shares to bring its total stake to 86,198 shares worth about $18.7 million.
• Several Wall Street analysts raised their price targets on AJG, and the stock now carries a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $280.35.
• Arthur J. Gallagher reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $4.47 per share and paid a $0.70 quarterly dividend, equal to a 1.1% yield.

Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 17.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 86,198 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 12,822 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.'s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $18,669,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,064 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $949,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 10,061 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,604,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 634 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $164,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 862 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $223,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Allen Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 1,895 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $490,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $618,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 47,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,850,714. This represents a 5.90% 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. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AJG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $242.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $235.00 to $265.00 in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $280.35.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of AJG opened at $254.36 on Monday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $221.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $225.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $190.75 and a 1 year high of $316.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.35 billion, a PE ratio of 41.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.50.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.04. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.67 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.31%.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.

The company's core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.

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