Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Grows Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 4.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 129,896 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,386 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH owned 0.05% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $44,845,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth about $1,421,591,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $719,489,000. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,199,413 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,327,403,000 after buying an additional 1,910,471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 162.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,822,319 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $801,115,000 after acquiring an additional 1,745,283 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total transaction of $4,645,755.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,109,256.33. This trade represents a 53.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total transaction of $2,505,260.90. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 90,020 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,029,771.80. This represents a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,510 shares of company stock valued at $11,033,341 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AJG shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $372.00 to $371.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. 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 target on the stock. Barclays increased their price target 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, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $326.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $319.29.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 2.3%

AJG traded up $7.23 during trading on Thursday, hitting $320.17. 1,416,548 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,342,320. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.11 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $331.21 and a 200 day moving average of $317.09. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $251.42 and a 12-month high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.85 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 16.47%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.45 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is 37.63%.

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.