Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $962.48 Million Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 30.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,107,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 725,555 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. comprises 0.7% of Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $962,483,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AJG. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,536,230,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,338,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,299,674,000 after acquiring an additional 3,330,205 shares in the last quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 453.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 1,121,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $358,934,000 after purchasing an additional 918,618 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 41,475.5% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 770,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $246,619,000 after acquiring an additional 768,541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,096,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,954,625,000 after purchasing an additional 685,278 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AJG. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $311.00 to $298.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. UBS Group cut their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $283.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $250.00 to $247.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $300.00 price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Friday, December 19th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $282.76.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $218.03 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $244.18 and a 200 day moving average of $266.68. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $195.00 and a 52-week high of $351.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.06 billion, a PE ratio of 35.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.66.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 12.13%. The business had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 42.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.11, for a total value of $1,032,440.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 17,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,472,271.97. The trade was a 18.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 15,850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $4,041,750.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 79,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,284,995. The trade was a 16.61% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 24,850 shares of company stock worth $6,364,440. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.

The company’s core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.