First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Acquires 1,527 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 5.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,447 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,527 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $10,166,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,672,134 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,422,435,000 after buying an additional 3,851,661 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 10,067,647 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,857,737,000 after acquiring an additional 305,876 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,199,413 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,327,403,000 after acquiring an additional 1,910,471 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,277,993 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,779,248,000 after acquiring an additional 787,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,421,591,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.17, for a total transaction of $3,540,285.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 91,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,741,474.75. This represents a 10.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total value of $4,645,755.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,109,256.33. This represents a 53.06% 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 valued at $11,033,341. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.2%

AJG stock opened at $328.90 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.44 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $251.42 and a 1-year high of $351.23. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $332.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $317.04.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.45 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AJG shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $319.36.

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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