Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Sells 1,438 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,558 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,438 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $16,419,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,421,591,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 3,851,661 shares in the last quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth $719,489,000. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,910,471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,745,283 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG traded up $2.76 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $326.88. 488,891 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,532,744. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $330.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $317.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $251.42 and a 52-week high of $351.23. The company has a market cap of $83.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.31 and a beta of 0.74.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $3.69 billion for 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.63%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total value of $4,645,755.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,109,256.33. This trade represents a 53.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 45,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,502,278.92. This represents a 2.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AJG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $326.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased 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 note on Friday, April 11th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $372.00 to $371.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $319.29.

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.