Retirement Systems of Alabama Trims Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lowered its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 1.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 179,527 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,742 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.07% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $61,980,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at about $382,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 337.7% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,243 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $921,000 after acquiring an additional 2,502 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 948 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Seven Grand Managers LLC acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at $7,096,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 68,124 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $19,337,000 after purchasing an additional 12,730 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG stock opened at $317.20 on Friday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $331.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $317.32. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $251.42 and a one year high of $351.23. The firm has a market cap of $81.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.90 and a beta of 0.74. 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. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.45 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is 37.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AJG shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $372.00 to $371.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $326.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Barclays boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $319.29.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total transaction of $4,645,755.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,941 shares in the company, valued at $4,109,256.33. The trade was a 53.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total value of $342,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 45,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,502,278.92. This trade represents a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $8,528,080. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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