Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 22,423 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 56.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 62,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,423 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $13,489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AJG. Krilogy Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth $327,000. Generate Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 200.0% during the 1st quarter. Generate Investment Management Ltd now owns 90,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,492,000 after purchasing an additional 60,000 shares during the last quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC now owns 75,490 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,350,000 after purchasing an additional 1,759 shares during the period. Roble Belko & Company Inc grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 16.2% in the 1st quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc now owns 1,431 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Funds Management LTD grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 50.3% in the 1st quarter. Fisher Funds Management LTD now owns 207,219 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,879,000 after purchasing an additional 69,379 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE AJG opened at $226.34 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $190.75 and a twelve month high of $323.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $58.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.62, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $210.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $225.98.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.67 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 45.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AJG. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $235.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $275.00 to $278.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $264.12.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $618,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 47,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,850,714. The trade was a 5.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.