Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Grows Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 585.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 84,925 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 72,530 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.'s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $29,320,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,672,134 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,422,435,000 after purchasing an additional 3,851,661 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 10,067,647 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,857,737,000 after buying an additional 305,876 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,199,413 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,327,403,000 after buying an additional 1,910,471 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,277,993 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,779,248,000 after acquiring an additional 787,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,421,591,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of 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. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $326.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $372.00 to $371.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $319.29.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG stock traded up $0.91 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $317.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 567,384 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,342,006. The stock has a market cap of $81.19 billion, a PE ratio of 45.91 and a beta of 0.74. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $251.42 and a 12-month high of $351.23. The company has a 50 day moving average of $331.46 and a 200 day moving average of $317.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.85 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 14.83% and a net margin of 14.39%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.45 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is presently 37.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,109,256.33. This represents a 53.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total value of $2,505,260.90. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 90,020 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,029,771.80. The trade was a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,510 shares of company stock valued at $11,033,341. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.