Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Stock Position Lowered by DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale decreased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 12.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 103,265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 14,285 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $25,410,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth $1,308,316,000. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1,210.9% during the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,383,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $311,117,000 after purchasing an additional 1,277,945 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,433,710 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $997,053,000 after purchasing an additional 884,394 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 180.6% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,228,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $307,076,000 after purchasing an additional 790,467 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 16,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.41, for a total value of $3,974,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 80,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,109,286.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 16,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.41, for a total value of $3,974,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 80,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,109,286.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,395 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.00, for a total transaction of $862,330.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 38,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,731,756. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 68,210 shares of company stock valued at $17,911,529 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $287.14. 917,328 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 759,536. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $264.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $250.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.91 billion, a PE ratio of 58.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $215.37 and a 12 month high of $290.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $2.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.90 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AJG. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Bank Of America (Bofa) raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $233.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $292.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $241.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $274.44.

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.