NewEdge Advisors LLC Purchases 3,317 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 187,296 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,317 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $48,567,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 24.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,433,710 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $997,053,000 after purchasing an additional 884,394 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 180.6% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,228,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $307,076,000 after buying an additional 790,467 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,050,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,763,177,000 after buying an additional 727,325 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 219.6% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,043,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $270,660,000 after acquiring an additional 717,221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chilton Investment Co. Inc. lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 476.2% during the fourth quarter. Chilton Investment Co. Inc. now owns 484,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $108,965,000 after acquiring an additional 400,453 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 6,335 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.06, for a total transaction of $1,799,520.10. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 30,053 shares in the company, valued at $8,536,855.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.68, for a total value of $1,992,760.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,625,146.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 6,335 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.06, for a total value of $1,799,520.10. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 30,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,536,855.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 44,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,622,660. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AJG shares. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $301.00 to $309.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $241.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $282.93.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE AJG opened at $279.45 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $286.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $263.83. 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 company has a market cap of $61.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $218.63 and a one year high of $301.04.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $2.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.90 EPS. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.58%.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.