Bank of New York Mellon Corp Takes $289.48 Million Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,260,984 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $289,484,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.49% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,390,446 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,123,534,000 after buying an additional 217,136 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,613,371 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,264,359,000 after acquiring an additional 830,252 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,953,598 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,834,682,000 after acquiring an additional 62,518 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth about $1,925,062,000. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 123.5% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,887,538 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,523,636,000 after acquiring an additional 3,253,498 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.02, for a total transaction of $899,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 22,223 shares in the company, valued at $5,711,755.46. This represents a 13.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $618,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 47,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,850,714. This trade represents a 5.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on AJG shares. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $267.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $235.00 to $265.00 in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $299.00 to $296.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Mizuho increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $290.28.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $263.24 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market cap of $67.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.66, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.50. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $244.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $225.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $190.75 and a 12-month high of $313.55.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.01 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 9.96% and a return on equity of 13.28%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.33 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.27 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.43%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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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