Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Buys 4,597 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 15.3%, owning 34,548 shares valued at approximately $11.06 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Despite a 16% year-over-year revenue growth, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported earnings per share of $2.33 for the last quarter, missing the consensus estimate by $0.03.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65, with an annualized yield of 0.9% and a payout ratio of 36.93%.

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 15.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,548 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,597 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $11,060,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AJG. Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth $382,000. Waverly Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth $517,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth $203,000. Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 69.9% during the 4th quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 1,286 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $365,000 after acquiring an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 601,954 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $170,865,000 after buying an additional 22,505 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.78, for a total transaction of $899,340.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 114,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $34,407,849.06. This represents a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total transaction of $3,825,648.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at $25,569,792. This represents a 13.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

NYSE:AJG traded up $3.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $299.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,605,274 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,301,658. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $274.25 and a fifty-two week high of $351.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market capitalization of $76.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.60 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $298.80 and a 200-day moving average of $318.33.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AJG shares. Erste Group Bank reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $369.00 to $365.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $288.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $330.93.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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.