EULAV Asset Management Grows Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

EULAV Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 54.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,400 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 9,000 shares during the quarter. EULAV Asset Management's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $8,769,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 205.4% in the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 directly owned 91,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,741,474.75. The trade was a 10.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 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. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

AJG traded down $2.34 during trading on Monday, hitting $315.76. The stock had a trading volume of 1,232,242 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,380,132. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.70 and a beta of 0.71. The company's 50-day moving average price is $328.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $319.97. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $263.22 and a twelve month high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 net margin of 14.39% and a return on equity of 14.83%. The business's revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.45 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is currently 37.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Barclays lowered 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 research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $317.93.

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.