IronOak Wealth LLC. Makes New Investment in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• IronOak Wealth LLC has acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., purchasing 1,944 shares valued at approximately $622,000.
• Insider transactions revealed that VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares for over $3.8 million, while CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 3,000 shares for nearly $900,000.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported earnings per share (EPS) of $2.33 for the last quarter, slightly missing analyst estimates, with revenues of $3.18 billion, a 16% increase year-over-year.

IronOak Wealth LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,944 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $622,000.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on AJG. UBS Group boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $317.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $330.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.78, for a total value of $899,340.00. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total transaction of $3,825,648.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,569,792. This represents a 13.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.1%

AJG traded up $0.42 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $300.07. 1,446,936 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,373,650. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $275.56 and a one year high of $351.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company's fifty day moving average price is $298.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $317.85. The company has a market cap of $76.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.62 and a beta of 0.72.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by ($0.03). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.29 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.