Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Exchange Traded Concepts LLC significantly increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,685.7%, acquiring a total of 8,942 shares valued at approximately $2.86 million.
• The company has a market capitalization of $76.89 billion and reported quarterly earnings of $2.33 per share, missing the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.03.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65, providing an annualized dividend yield of 0.9%.

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 2,685.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,942 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,621 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $2,863,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AJG. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth $34,000. Centennial Bank AR acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Motco raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 700.0% during the first quarter. Motco now owns 112 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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 report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $369.00 to $365.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Barclays decreased their price target 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $330.93.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE AJG traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $300.07. The company had a trading volume of 1,446,936 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,531,413. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $298.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $318.01. The company has a market capitalization of $76.94 billion, a PE ratio of 42.62 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $275.56 and a one year high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.29 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $25,569,792. This trade represents a 13.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.78, for a total transaction of $899,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 114,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,407,849.06. This represents a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

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.