Running Oak Capital LLC Acquires 3,166 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Running Oak Capital LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.5%, purchasing an additional 3,166 shares, bringing their total holdings to 51,867 shares valued at $16.6 million.
• Wall Street analysts have issued mixed ratings for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price averaging $328.80.
• The company declared a $0.65 quarterly dividend, representing an annualized dividend of $2.60, with a dividend yield of 0.8%.

Running Oak Capital LLC lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 6.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,867 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,166 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. comprises about 1.8% of Running Oak Capital LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Running Oak Capital LLC's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $16,604,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 47.7% in the 2nd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 12,531 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,011,000 after buying an additional 4,047 shares during the period. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 16.4% during the second quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,307 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $418,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Talbot Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 15.8% in the second quarter. Talbot Financial LLC now owns 38,090 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,193,000 after purchasing an additional 5,185 shares during the period. Clarius Group LLC grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 20.6% in the second quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 1,130 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc. raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 73.8% during the 2nd quarter. Donor Advised Charitable Giving Inc. now owns 27,855 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,917,000 after purchasing an additional 11,825 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $369.00 to $365.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 19th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $317.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $328.80.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of AJG stock opened at $310.95 on Monday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $275.56 and a fifty-two week high of $351.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.73 billion, a PE ratio of 44.17 and a beta of 0.73. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $297.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $316.55.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is currently 36.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total value of $3,825,648.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 85,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,569,792. This represents a 13.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total transaction of $2,396,320.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 100,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,186,742.58. The trade was a 7.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,855 shares of company stock valued at $8,916,928 over the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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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