Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Increases Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 6.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,951 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,896 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $10,340,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allred Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Allred Capital Management LLC now owns 3,380 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $960,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. City Holding Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 1,140 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 34.3% in the first quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 133 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 1,173 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.5% in the first quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 7,195 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,484,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:AJG traded up $0.76 during trading on Friday, reaching $316.50. The stock had a trading volume of 639,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,378,055. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $81.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.80 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $328.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $319.17. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $260.83 and a fifty-two week high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 company 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%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.45 EPS. As a group, 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director owned 45,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,502,278.92. This represents a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $4,645,755.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 11,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,109,256.33. The trade was a 53.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,528,080. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on AJG. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on 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. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 price objective for the company. 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 report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, 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 research note on Friday, April 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $319.29.

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.