Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Purchased by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 28.4%, owning approximately 1.46 million shares valued at $503.4 million.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.9%, to be paid on September 19th.
• Research analysts have given the stock a consensus rating of "Hold" with a target price averaging $333.13, following mixed ratings from various firms.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 28.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,458,113 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 322,861 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 0.57% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $503,399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,411,264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,499,185,000 after buying an additional 739,130 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 38.3% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,372,745 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,997,767,000 after acquiring an additional 4,815,007 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.9% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,959,673 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,021,798,000 after buying an additional 137,354 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.4% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,364,759 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $816,409,000 after buying an additional 9,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.3% during the first quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,336,591 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $796,217,000 after buying an additional 7,594 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at $25,569,792. This represents a 13.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.78, for a total transaction of $899,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 114,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at $34,407,849.06. This trade represents a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AJG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $344.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $317.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $371.00 to $373.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $333.13.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

AJG traded down $3.34 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $297.27. 1,302,078 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,313,249. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market capitalization of $76.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.23 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $274.25 and a 52-week high of $351.23. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $300.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $319.61.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. On average, 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is 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.