Cane Capital Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Cane Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 26,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,853,000. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. makes up 2.7% of Cane Capital Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 870.0% during the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 40.6% during the 3rd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AJG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley set a $300.00 price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $283.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $273.65.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $908,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 19,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,384,778.72. This represents a 17.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total transaction of $864,766.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,552,814.40. The trade was a 4.24% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $217.64 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $55.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.39, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $220.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $249.90. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $195.00 and a one year high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 12.13%. The firm’s revenue was up 33.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. Research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 45.53%.

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.