Royal Bank of Canada Has $184.29 Million Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Royal Bank of Canada reduced its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 649,251 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,047 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.26% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $184,290,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AJG. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 3,851,661 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 10,067,647 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,857,737,000 after buying an additional 305,876 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,199,413 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,327,403,000 after buying an additional 1,910,471 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,277,993 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,779,248,000 after acquiring an additional 787,265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,421,591,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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 sale, the director now directly owns 45,323 shares in the company, valued at $15,502,278.92. This trade represents a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $4,645,755.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,109,256.33. The trade was a 53.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 22,010 shares of company stock worth $7,493,056 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 1.0%

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded down $3.59 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $340.23. The stock had a trading volume of 908,691 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,315,628. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $244.60 and a 12 month high of $350.70. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $331.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $312.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.13 billion, a PE ratio of 52.18 and a beta of 0.78.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.85 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. The firm's revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.45 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AJG shares. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $307.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays upped their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $318.57.

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.