Focus Partners Wealth Purchases 33,214 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 1,029.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,439 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 33,214 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Wealth's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $10,372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AJG. Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 21.3% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 54,162 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $15,374,000 after purchasing an additional 9,529 shares in the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth about $213,000. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 47.2% during the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 30,499 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,657,000 after buying an additional 9,775 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,432 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $985,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 5,180 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,470,000 after buying an additional 597 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded up $3.84 on Friday, reaching $342.12. The company had a trading volume of 973,172 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,317,578. The firm has a market cap of $87.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.47 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $330.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $312.07. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $244.60 and a 1 year high of $350.70.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.45 EPS. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AJG shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $307.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $318.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $2,505,260.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 90,020 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,029,771.80. This trade represents a 7.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.