Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Bought by Kingsview Wealth Management LLC

Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 91.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,879 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 897 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $649,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 10,067,647 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,857,737,000 after purchasing an additional 305,876 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised 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 worth $2,327,403,000 after purchasing an additional 1,910,471 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,277,993 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,779,248,000 after purchasing an additional 787,265 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,421,591,000. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,957,633 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $839,524,000 after acquiring an additional 260,533 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.17, for a total value of $3,540,285.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 91,175 shares in the company, valued at $30,741,474.75. This trade represents a 10.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 11,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,109,256.33. This represents a 53.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $8,528,080. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

AJG stock traded up $0.06 on Thursday, hitting $310.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 266,815 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,505,544. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $323.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $322.00. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $267.00 and a 1 year high of $351.23. The stock has a market cap of $79.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.98 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. (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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.85 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.39% and a return on equity of 14.83%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.45 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given 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 0.84%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is currently 37.63%.

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.