Penserra Capital Management LLC Grows Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Penserra Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 257.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,615 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,044 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $1,937,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 106,991 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,369,000 after buying an additional 6,239 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 948 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $269,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at about $770,000. Banco Santander S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at about $400,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 63,319 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $17,973,000 after buying an additional 3,383 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AJG. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 price target on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 report on Monday, June 9th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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 report on Wednesday. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $318.21.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.17, for a total transaction of $3,540,285.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 91,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,741,474.75. The trade was a 10.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $342,040.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 45,323 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,528,080 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AJG traded down $1.59 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $311.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 83,759 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,537,255. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $328.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $320.32. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $267.00 and a one year high of $351.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.14 and a beta of 0.71.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.45 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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 given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.63%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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.