IFP Advisors Inc Raises Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 23.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the quarter. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $744,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,421,591,000. Winslow Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $719,489,000. Capital World Investors grew its stake in 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 valued at $2,327,403,000 after acquiring an additional 1,910,471 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 162.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,822,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $801,115,000 after purchasing an additional 1,745,283 shares during the period. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1,511.2% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,758,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $499,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,649,046 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total transaction of $342,040.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 45,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,502,278.92. The trade was a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total value of $4,645,755.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 11,941 shares in the company, valued at $4,109,256.33. The trade was a 53.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $8,528,080. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:AJG opened at $309.35 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $267.00 and a 1 year high of $351.23. The stock has a market cap of $79.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.77 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a fifty day moving average of $323.36 and a 200-day moving average of $322.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.39% and a return on equity of 14.83%. The company had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.45 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. 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 0.84%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 37.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AJG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $372.00 to $371.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $318.21.

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.