Sowell Financial Services LLC Takes Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,790 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $618,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. MRP Capital Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% in the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 205.4% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 34.3% during the 1st quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 133 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays boosted 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $372.00 to $371.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 9th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $319.29.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total transaction of $342,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 45,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,502,278.92. The trade was a 2.16% decrease in their position. 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 Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 sold a total of 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,528,080 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded up $4.15 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $324.31. 1,311,677 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,350,827. The stock has a market cap of $83.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.93 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $330.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $317.56. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $251.42 and a 12-month high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion for 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%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s quarterly 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. Equities research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is 37.63%.

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.