Capital World Investors Boosts Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,613,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 830,252 shares during the quarter. Capital World Investors’ holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $3,264,359,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% in the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the third quarter worth $39,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 668.2% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 84.8% in the fourth quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth $51,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 2.6%

NYSE:AJG opened at $216.58 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $190.75 and a twelve month high of $330.78. The company has a market cap of $55.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $210.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $229.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 10.76%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 29.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.67 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.27 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 45.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AJG shares. UBS Group set a $240.00 price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Barclays raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $262.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $235.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $280.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $275.00 to $278.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $264.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $618,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 47,819 shares in the company, valued at $9,850,714. The trade was a 5.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.