Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Purchased by Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc.

Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 47.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,476 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc.'s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $855,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AJG. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9% in the fourth 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 grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 305,876 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,199,413 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,327,403,000 after purchasing an additional 1,910,471 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.3% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 787,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth $1,421,591,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total value of $2,505,260.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 90,020 shares in the company, valued at $30,029,771.80. This represents a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total transaction of $4,645,755.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,109,256.33. This trade represents a 53.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,510 shares of company stock worth $11,033,341 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:AJG traded down $3.77 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $316.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,038,988 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,344,334. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The firm's 50 day moving average is $331.51 and its 200-day moving average is $317.22. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $251.42 and a fifty-two week high of $351.23. The firm has a market cap of $81.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.52 and a beta of 0.74.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.45 EPS. The business's revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on AJG. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $372.00 to $371.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of 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. 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 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $319.29.

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.