Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.8% during the second quarter, owning 71,934 shares valued at approximately $23 million.
• Several institutional investors have made recent changes to their positions in Arthur J. Gallagher, with a notable 700% increase in stake by Motco during the first quarter.
• Arthur J. Gallagher announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, representing an annualized payout of $2.60 and a dividend yield of 0.9%.

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 14.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,934 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,283 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $23,027,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth about $25,000. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth about $34,000. Centennial Bank AR purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Motco boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 700.0% in the first quarter. Motco now owns 112 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays cut 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 note on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $365.00 to $366.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. UBS Group upped their target price on 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $331.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 100,777 shares in the company, valued at $30,186,742.58. This represents a 7.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $3,825,648.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 85,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,569,792. This represents a 13.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,855 shares of company stock valued at $8,916,928. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG stock opened at $301.75 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.36. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $275.56 and a fifty-two week high of $351.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $299.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $315.45. The company has a market capitalization of $77.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.86 and a beta of 0.73.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.93%.

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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