ProShare Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 26.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 53,459 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 11,347 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $15,174,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,750 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $497,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 33.0% during the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 13,282 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,770,000 after acquiring an additional 3,292 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 34,813 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,882,000 after buying an additional 1,793 shares during the last quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,047,000. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,335,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 1.0%

AJG traded down $3.59 on Tuesday, hitting $340.23. The company had a trading volume of 908,691 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,315,628. The firm has a market cap of $87.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.18 and a beta of 0.78. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $244.60 and a 1 year high of $350.70. The company's fifty day moving average price is $331.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $312.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

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 the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.45 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend 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 (DPR) is presently 37.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AJG shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $307.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $318.57.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 90,020 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,029,771.80. This represents a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,109,256.33. The trade was a 53.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 22,010 shares of company stock worth $7,493,056 over the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is currently 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.