Kestra Advisory Services LLC Buys 31,997 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 212.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 47,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 31,997 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $11,775,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. 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 valued at $2,763,177,000 after buying an additional 727,325 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth about $1,308,316,000. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9.0% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,832,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,208,208,000 after purchasing an additional 398,350 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% in 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 period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.3% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,567,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $392,029,000 after purchasing an additional 79,271 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

NYSE:AJG traded down $4.78 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $278.80. The stock had a trading volume of 49,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 845,178. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $261.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $248.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.92 billion, a PE ratio of 57.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $214.13 and a 12 month high of $283.90.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.90 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on AJG. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Argus lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America lifted 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, six have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $273.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 8,303 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.74, for a total value of $2,181,530.22. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 36,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,560,583.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 8,303 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.74, for a total value of $2,181,530.22. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 36,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,560,583.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 16,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.41, for a total transaction of $3,974,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,109,286.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 53,165 shares of company stock valued at $13,629,049. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.