Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Purchased by Czech National Bank

Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 7.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 58,421 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,259 shares during the period. Czech National Bank's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $20,169,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 205.4% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on AJG. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $307.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Two research 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $318.57.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

AJG stock traded down $3.16 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $345.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,035,784 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,326,977. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $250.51 and a 1 year high of $351.31. The stock has a market cap of $88.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.01 and a beta of 0.78. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $333.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $315.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 16.47%. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.45 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is 37.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was 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 now owns 11,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,109,256.33. This trade represents a 53.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total value of $342,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 45,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,502,278.92. This represents a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 32,510 shares of company stock valued at $11,033,341. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.