Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Buys 36,113 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 44.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 116,791 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 36,113 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $40,321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AJG. Norges Bank bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at $1,421,591,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,672,134 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,422,435,000 after purchasing an additional 3,851,661 shares during the period. Winslow Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth $719,489,000. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,910,471 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 162.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,822,319 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $801,115,000 after purchasing an additional 1,745,283 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AJG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $372.00 to $371.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Barclays lifted their target price 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, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $319.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the business's 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 91,175 shares in the company, valued at $30,741,474.75. The trade was a 10.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, 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 sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,528,080 in the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

AJG stock traded down $0.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $317.70. 5,446,954 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,369,728. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The company has a market capitalization of $81.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.98 and a beta of 0.74. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $257.58 and a 52-week high of $351.23. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $329.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $318.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $3.85 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 14.83% and a net margin of 14.39%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.45 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is presently 37.63%.

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.