Swedbank AB Acquires 18,937 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 25.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 91,942 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 18,937 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $29,432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AJG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 38.3% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,372,745 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,997,767,000 after buying an additional 4,815,007 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,411,264 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,499,185,000 after buying an additional 739,130 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $240,665,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3,142.2% in the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 640,911 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $221,268,000 after buying an additional 621,143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $136,565,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.1%

AJG opened at $299.90 on Friday. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company has a market capitalization of $76.89 billion, a P/E 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 earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by ($0.03). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%.The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.29 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $369.00 to $365.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Citigroup began coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $317.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $288.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.

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