Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Bought by Nisa Investment Advisors LLC

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 65,096 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,336 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $22,474,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AJG. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 205.4% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related 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 represents a 10.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total transaction of $342,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $8,528,080 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:AJG traded down $2.06 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $311.52. The company had a trading volume of 715,217 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,386,334. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $327.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $320.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.08 and a beta of 0.71. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $267.00 and a one year high of $351.23.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.39% and a return on equity of 14.83%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.45 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect 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. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AJG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays reduced 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 research note on Monday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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. 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 report on Monday, June 9th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 target price for the company. 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 report on Friday, April 11th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $318.21.

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.