Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Has $1.73 Million Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 252.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,971 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,710 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $1,726,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AJG. Dearborn Partners LLC grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 133,936 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,661,000 after acquiring an additional 7,946 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 65,889 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,398,000 after purchasing an additional 6,090 shares in the last quarter. Professional Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 12.2% during the 4th quarter. Professional Advisory Services Inc. now owns 78,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,302,000 after purchasing an additional 8,539 shares in the last quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,571,000. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 127.3% during the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 44,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,869,000 after purchasing an additional 25,080 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AJG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $235.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $259.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $266.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $262.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $264.12.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was 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 owned 47,819 shares in the company, valued at $9,850,714. This trade represents a 5.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG opened at $226.91 on Tuesday. 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 twelve month low of $190.75 and a twelve month high of $323.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a 50 day moving average of $210.54 and a 200-day moving average of $225.81.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its 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. The business 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 firm’s revenue was up 29.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

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

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.