Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Acquired by Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 488.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 156,239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 129,686 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned 0.06% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $48,393,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,096,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,954,625,000 after purchasing an additional 685,278 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,338,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,299,674,000 after purchasing an additional 3,330,205 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,783,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,649,477,000 after purchasing an additional 101,298 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,743,493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,439,207,000 after buying an additional 117,646 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,194,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,228,156,000 after buying an additional 45,256 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $207.86 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.44 billion, a PE ratio of 33.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $234.93 and a 200-day moving average of $259.95. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $195.00 and a 52-week high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.13% and a net margin of 11.84%.The business had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 33.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total value of $864,766.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,552,814.40. This trade represents a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $908,480.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 19,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,384,778.72. This represents a 17.16% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 32,650 shares of company stock valued at $8,137,686 in the last 90 days. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AJG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research set a $289.00 price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Mizuho upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, February 27th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $283.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC set a $272.00 target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $282.65.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.

The company’s core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.