Bank of New York Mellon Corp Boosts Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,486,977 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 31,723 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.58% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $513,364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% in the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 205.4% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 91,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,741,474.75. This trade represents a 10.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were 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 directly owned 11,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,109,256.33. The trade was a 53.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $8,528,080. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $326.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Barclays lowered their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $317.93.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE AJG traded down $2.34 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $315.76. 1,232,242 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,380,132. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $263.22 and a 12 month high of $351.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.70 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. The company's 50 day moving average price is $328.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $319.97.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.45 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is 37.63%.

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.