Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys 6,679 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.2% to approximately 581,231 shares, valued at $200.66 million.
• The company reported a Q2 EPS of $2.33, missing estimates by $0.03, and a revenue of $3.18 billion, which was also below expectations.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65, with a yield of 0.9%, set to be paid on September 19th to shareholders of record by September 5th.

Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 1.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 581,231 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,679 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $200,664,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,899 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 3,812 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,289,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 1,603 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $553,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. City Holding Co. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 1,140 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 34.3% during the 1st quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 133 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $292.62 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The business has a 50 day moving average of $308.01 and a 200 day moving average of $322.75. The company has a market capitalization of $75.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.57 and a beta of 0.68. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $274.25 and a 1-year high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.20 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is 36.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AJG shares. Barclays dropped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group dropped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $345.00 to $322.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $317.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $331.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.17, for a total value of $3,540,285.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 91,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,741,474.75. The trade was a 10.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.