Factory Mutual Insurance Co. Takes Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Factory Mutual Insurance Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 7,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,417,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MRP Capital Investments LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% in the 4th 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 stake 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 buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 34.3% during the 1st quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 133 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 45,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,502,278.92. This represents a 2.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.17, for a total value of $3,540,285.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 91,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,741,474.75. The trade was a 10.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 32,510 shares of company stock worth $11,033,341. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AJG shares. Barclays boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $372.00 to $371.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $319.29.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

AJG opened at $316.38 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $81.02 billion, a PE ratio of 48.52 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $331.51 and a 200-day moving average of $317.22. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $251.42 and a 52-week high of $351.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.51.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.63%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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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