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

Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,790 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $618,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,198 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,089,000 after purchasing an additional 982 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,710 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,089,000 after buying an additional 763 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,940 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $835,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 310.8% during the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 14,480 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,110,000 after acquiring an additional 10,955 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AJG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $372.00 to $371.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 9th. 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 report on Thursday, June 5th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 target price for the company. Two equities 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $319.29.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

NYSE:AJG traded up $3.71 on Friday, reaching $320.84. The stock had a trading volume of 2,537,122 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,349,198. The company has a market capitalization of $82.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.43 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $331.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $317.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $251.42 and a 1-year high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 14.83% and a net margin of 14.39%. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.45 EPS. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.63%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 53.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,741,474.75. The trade was a 10.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,528,080 over the last ninety days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.