J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Raises Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 459.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,490 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,509 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $1,895,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of AJG. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,421,591,000. Winslow Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $719,489,000. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,199,413 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,327,403,000 after acquiring an additional 1,910,471 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 162.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,822,319 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $801,115,000 after acquiring an additional 1,745,283 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1,511.2% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,758,166 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $499,055,000 after acquiring an additional 1,649,046 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of AJG traded up $6.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $315.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 897,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,269,745. The stock has a market cap of $80.71 billion, a PE ratio of 45.61 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $267.00 and a 52 week high of $351.23. The company's fifty day moving average price is $322.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $322.73.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.39% and a return on equity of 14.83%. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.45 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were issued 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 0.83%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AJG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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 research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $372.00 to $371.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $318.21.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 91,175 shares in the company, valued at $30,741,474.75. This represents a 10.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total transaction of $342,040.00. Following the sale, the director owned 45,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,502,278.92. This represents a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $8,528,080 in the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.