Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Acquired by Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI

Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 2.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $1,662,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth $25,000. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter valued at $34,000. Centennial Bank AR purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,750.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

AJG opened at $308.09 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $275.56 and a 1 year high of $351.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $297.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $316.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market cap of $78.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.76 and a beta of 0.73.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.36 by ($0.03). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.29 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 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 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AJG. Wall Street Zen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $369.00 to $365.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 19th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $317.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $288.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $328.80.

Insider Activity

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total transaction of $3,825,648.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at $25,569,792. This trade represents a 13.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total value of $2,396,320.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 100,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,186,742.58. This trade represents a 7.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,855 shares of company stock worth $8,916,928. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co engages in the provision of insurance brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party claims settlement and administration services. It operates through the following segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.