Cwm LLC Increases Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 7.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,294 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,784 shares during the quarter. CWM LLC's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $8,733,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. TFR Capital LLC. raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 21.8% in the first quarter. TFR Capital LLC. now owns 3,305 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,141,000 after purchasing an additional 592 shares in the last quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.1% in the first quarter. Schear Investment Advisers LLC now owns 5,878 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,029,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.2% in the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 13,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,730,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.0% in the first quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 182,795 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $63,108,000 after acquiring an additional 10,318 shares during the period. Finally, Platform Technology Partners acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at approximately $209,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total transaction of $342,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 45,323 shares in the company, valued at $15,502,278.92. This represents a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,941 shares in the company, valued at $4,109,256.33. This represents 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. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AJG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays dropped 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 report on Monday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $372.00 to $371.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $318.21.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE AJG traded up $4.39 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $314.31. 710,704 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,391,522. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $267.00 and a twelve month high of $351.23. The company has a market cap of $80.50 billion, a PE ratio of 45.48 and a beta of 0.71. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $326.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $320.96.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 14.83% and a net margin of 14.39%. The firm's revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.45 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.