Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Sold by Norden Group LLC

Norden Group LLC reduced its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 95.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 775 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 14,577 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $201,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,050,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,763,177,000 after purchasing an additional 727,325 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,308,316,000. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9.0% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,832,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,208,208,000 after buying an additional 398,350 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% during the first quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,624,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $656,217,000 after purchasing an additional 14,366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,611,299 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $402,206,000 after acquiring an additional 38,886 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AJG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $241.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $233.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $276.82.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of AJG stock opened at $298.81 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $65.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.49, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $280.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $259.92. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $218.63 and a twelve month high of $299.90.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.02. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The business had revenue of $2.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.16 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 48.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.45, for a total value of $2,634,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 93,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,693,168.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 6,335 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.06, for a total value of $1,799,520.10. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 30,053 shares in the company, valued at $8,536,855.18. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.45, for a total value of $2,634,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 93,730 shares in the company, valued at $24,693,168.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 48,348 shares of company stock valued at $13,342,910. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.