Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI Takes $58.04 Million Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI has acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth approximately $58.04 million, with ownership of 0.07% of the company's shares.
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. recently raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 38.3%, while hedge funds now own 85.53% of the company's stock.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.9% and a payout ratio of 36.93%.

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 168,118 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $58,041,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI owned 0.07% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Centennial Bank AR purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,750.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.78, for a total transaction of $899,340.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 114,777 shares in the company, valued at $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 SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total value of $3,825,648.00. Following the sale, 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. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on AJG. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $345.00 to $322.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $333.13.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:AJG traded down $3.34 during trading on Friday, hitting $297.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,302,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,310,043. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.36. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $274.25 and a fifty-two week high of $351.23. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $300.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $319.70. The company has a market capitalization of $76.22 billion, a PE ratio of 42.23 and a beta of 0.72.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. The company's revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.93%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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.