Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp Purchases New Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $320,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. Centennial Bank AR acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised 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 worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $308.09 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $297.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $316.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.99 billion, a PE ratio of 43.76 and a beta of 0.73. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $275.56 and a 12-month high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $2.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 36.93%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AJG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $344.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $328.80.

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.