Kentucky Retirement Systems Grows Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Kentucky Retirement Systems increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 11.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,785 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,729 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems' holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $5,795,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. North Point Portfolio Managers Corp OH raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.5% during the first quarter. North Point Portfolio Managers Corp OH now owns 69,021 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $23,829,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares during the period. Childress Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Garde Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 113.9% in the 1st quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 2,139 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $739,000 after purchasing an additional 1,139 shares in the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 3,307 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Finally, GAM Holding AG grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 16.7% during the 1st quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 13,994 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,831,000 after buying an additional 2,001 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 0.0%

NYSE AJG traded up $0.15 on Tuesday, hitting $324.27. 317,077 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,346,781. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $251.42 and a 52-week high of $351.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.92 and a beta of 0.74. 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 fifty day moving average price of $330.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $317.76.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. 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 analysts' expectations of $3.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.45 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is 37.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on AJG. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $372.00 to $371.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective 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 reduced their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $319.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total transaction of $4,645,755.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 45,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,502,278.92. The trade was a 2.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,528,080. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

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.