Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Bought by ARS Investment Partners LLC

ARS Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 15.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 95,135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,381 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. accounts for approximately 1.1% of ARS Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. ARS Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $20,604,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,390,446 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,123,534,000 after buying an additional 217,136 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,613,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,264,359,000 after buying an additional 830,252 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,953,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,834,682,000 after acquiring an additional 62,518 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,925,062,000. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,194,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,228,156,000 after acquiring an additional 45,256 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 47,819 shares in the company, valued at $9,850,714. This represents a 5.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $214.45 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $210.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $226.89. The stock has a market cap of $55.09 billion, a PE ratio of 34.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $190.75 and a 52-week high of $327.34.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.04. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 10.76%.The company had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 45.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AJG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Monday, June 15th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $275.00 to $278.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $262.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $264.12.

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.