Mackenzie Financial Corp Buys 20,437 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 19.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 125,588 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 20,437 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned about 0.05% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $35,648,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AJG. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth $1,421,591,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,672,134 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,422,435,000 after buying an additional 3,851,661 shares during the last quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $719,489,000. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,199,413 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,327,403,000 after buying an additional 1,910,471 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 162.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,822,319 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $801,115,000 after buying an additional 1,745,283 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total value of $342,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total value of $2,505,260.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 90,020 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,029,771.80. This represents a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,510 shares of company stock valued at $11,033,341 over the last ninety days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on AJG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $307.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $318.57.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded up $2.45 on Friday, hitting $344.35. The company had a trading volume of 236,910 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,318,671. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.77 and a beta of 0.78. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $244.60 and a 1 year high of $350.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $332.65 and a 200-day moving average of $314.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.51.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.45 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.63%.

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.