Empirical Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Empirical Asset Management LLC has acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., purchasing 2,299 shares valued at approximately $736,000 in the second quarter.
• Recent insider transactions include VP Scott R. Hudson and CFO Douglas K. Howell both selling significant amounts of stock, leading to decreases in their ownership positions.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported a 9% earnings miss in its latest quarterly earnings, with an EPS of $2.33 against the expected $2.36, and revenue of $3.18 billion compared to estimates of $3.20 billion.

Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,299 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $736,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,899 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,001,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 3,812 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,289,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Allen Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 1,603 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $553,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,542 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $494,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,746 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $948,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total transaction of $3,825,648.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at $25,569,792. This represents a 13.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total transaction of $2,396,320.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 100,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,186,742.58. This represents a 7.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,855 shares of company stock valued at $8,916,928. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $280.09 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $299.73 and a 200-day moving average of $314.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.82 billion, a PE ratio of 39.79 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $275.56 and a 12 month high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%.Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. On average, equities 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, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on AJG. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $288.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $331.43.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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.

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