Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec Grows Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 24.8%, owning 126,042 shares valued at approximately $43.5 million after acquiring an additional 25,029 shares.
• During the first quarter, other institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and JPMorgan Chase, also boosted their positions in the company, highlighting strong institutional interest in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, with a scheduled payment on September 19th and an annualized dividend yield of 0.9%.

Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 24.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 126,042 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 25,029 shares during the quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $43,525,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Centennial Bank AR purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,750.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Erste Group Bank reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group decreased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $345.00 to $322.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Barclays decreased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $371.00 to $373.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $317.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $333.13.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 0.4%

AJG stock traded down $1.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $299.01. The company had a trading volume of 1,217,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,308,466. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company has a market capitalization of $76.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.47 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $302.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $320.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $274.25 and a fifty-two week high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.29 EPS. 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is 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 is presently 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.