Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Stock Position Lifted by GAM Holding AG

GAM Holding AG grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 16.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,994 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,001 shares during the period. GAM Holding AG's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $4,831,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MRP Capital Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 45,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,502,278.92. This represents a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total value of $4,645,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,109,256.33. The trade was a 53.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,000 shares of company stock worth $8,528,080 in the last three months. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AJG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $326.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price 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. 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. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $319.29.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AJG traded up $3.71 during trading on Friday, reaching $320.84. The stock had a trading volume of 2,537,122 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,350,986. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $251.42 and a one year high of $351.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market cap of $82.17 billion, a PE ratio of 46.43 and a beta of 0.74. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $330.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $317.47.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.85 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 14.83% and a net margin of 14.39%. The firm's revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.45 EPS. On average, research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is currently 37.63%.

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.