Xponance Inc. Buys 1,871 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 5.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 37,515 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,871 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.'s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $12,952,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 35,751 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,343,000 after purchasing an additional 4,823 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,938 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,305,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,019 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,114,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $492,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 65,096 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $22,474,000 after buying an additional 1,336 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AJG has been the topic of a number of research reports. 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. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 target price for the company. Barclays reduced their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $318.21.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG traded down $2.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $311.52. 715,217 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,386,334. The company has a market cap of $79.78 billion, a PE ratio of 45.08 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $327.80 and a 200 day moving average of $320.48. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $267.00 and a 52-week high of $351.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.45 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.63%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider owned 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.17, for a total value of $3,540,285.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 91,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,741,474.75. This represents a 10.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,528,080 over the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.