Garde Capital Inc. Raises Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Garde Capital Inc. boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 113.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,139 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,139 shares during the quarter. Garde Capital Inc.'s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $739,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AJG. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth $1,421,591,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,672,134 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,422,435,000 after purchasing an additional 3,851,661 shares during the last quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth $719,489,000. Capital World Investors grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,910,471 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 162.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,745,283 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of 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 lifted their target price on shares of 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 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 research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of 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 assumed coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set 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 given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $319.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total value of $342,040.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 45,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,502,278.92. This trade represents a 2.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.17, for a total transaction of $3,540,285.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 91,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,741,474.75. This trade represents a 10.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,528,080 over the last ninety days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $320.84 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $82.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.43 and a beta of 0.74. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $251.42 and a 52-week 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $330.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $317.40.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced 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 business had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.39% and a return on equity of 14.83%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.45 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.63%.

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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