Boston Partners Acquires 55,840 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Key Points

• Boston Partners increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.2% during the first quarter, now owning 732,953 shares valued at approximately $252.50 million.
• Insider sales included 1,000 shares sold by Director David S. Johnson and 13,500 shares sold by insider Susan E. Pietrucha, indicating a decrease in their ownership.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.9% scheduled for payment on September 19th.

Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 8.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 732,953 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 55,840 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned about 0.29% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $252,499,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of AJG. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 205.4% in the 4th 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. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Centennial Bank AR acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,750.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AJG traded down $0.79 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $292.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,237,379 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,665,758. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.57 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $308.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $322.58. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $274.25 and a 12-month high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is 36.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.17, for a total transaction of $3,540,285.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 91,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,741,474.75. The trade was a 10.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total transaction of $4,645,755.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 11,941 shares in the company, valued at $4,109,256.33. The trade was a 53.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AJG. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays lowered their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $317.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $331.07.

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.