Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $13.49 Million Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 56.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 62,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,423 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $13,489,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Prosperity Bancshares Inc bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AJG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $235.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $266.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $275.00 to $278.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Monday, June 15th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $264.12.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $226.34 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $190.75 and a 12-month high of $323.25. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $210.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $225.98. The firm has a market cap of $58.15 billion, a PE ratio of 36.62, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 29.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.67 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.31%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $618,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 47,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,850,714. This trade represents a 5.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.40% 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.