South Shore Capital Advisors Purchases New Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

South Shore Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 4,299 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $981,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,242,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $702,182,000 after buying an additional 409,145 shares during the period. Gtcr LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth $514,112,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.4% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,970,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $426,887,000 after acquiring an additional 101,431 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 23.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,854,488 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $401,645,000 after purchasing an additional 346,409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.3% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,453,774 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $333,743,000 after purchasing an additional 3,905 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of AJG traded up $4.51 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $257.52. 877,739 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,874,291. The company has a market cap of $66.00 billion, a PE ratio of 42.69, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $246.43 and its 200-day moving average is $232.55. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $190.75 and a 52 week high of $284.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.28% and a net margin of 9.96%. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 8th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.43%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Richard Cary sold 1,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.86, for a total value of $252,860.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 46,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,838,652.34. This trade represents a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott Hudson sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.13, for a total transaction of $3,169,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 90,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,840,902.06. The trade was a 11.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 28,500 shares of company stock worth $7,562,950. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AJG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. UBS Group boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $291.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (down from $271.00) on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $290.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $278.00 to $255.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $280.74.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting company. The firm helps businesses, public entities and individuals identify, manage and transfer risk through insurance and related services.

Its operations include retail insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting, wholesale brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, claims administration and risk management consulting. Gallagher places commercial and personal insurance coverage and provides services related to property and casualty risks, health care, benefits, and other specialized insurance needs.

Founded in 1927 by Arthur J.