Fortis Capital Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Fortis Capital Advisors LLC has made a new investment in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., acquiring 1,744 shares valued at approximately $602,000 in the first quarter.
• Recent insider trading reports indicate that VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares for $3.83 million, reducing his position by 13.01%.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus rating of "Hold" on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., with a target price averaging $333.13.

Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,744 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $602,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Graham Capital Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth about $252,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 473.6% during the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,770 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,638,000 after purchasing an additional 4,764 shares in the last quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners now owns 1,803 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $512,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 9,012 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,558,000 after purchasing an additional 1,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 683,206 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $193,928,000 after purchasing an additional 23,182 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total value of $3,825,648.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,569,792. The trade was a 13.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AJG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $344.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $333.13.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $292.92 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market cap of $75.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.61 and a beta of 0.72. The company's 50 day moving average price is $301.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $320.19. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $274.25 and a 52 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 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 the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is currently 36.93%.

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.

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