Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Buys 220 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 0.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 518,481 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV owned approximately 0.24% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $134,447,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,433,710 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $997,053,000 after purchasing an additional 884,394 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 180.6% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,228,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $307,076,000 after purchasing an additional 790,467 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,050,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,763,177,000 after purchasing an additional 727,325 shares during the period. Chilton Investment Co. Inc. lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 476.2% during the 4th quarter. Chilton Investment Co. Inc. now owns 484,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $108,965,000 after purchasing an additional 400,453 shares during the period. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 510.1% during the 1st quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 189,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $47,339,000 after purchasing an additional 158,295 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 6,335 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.06, for a total transaction of $1,799,520.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 30,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,536,855.18. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 6,335 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.06, for a total transaction of $1,799,520.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 30,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,536,855.18. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total transaction of $2,103,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 33,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,853,685.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 37,145 shares of company stock valued at $10,629,900 in the last ninety days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG stock opened at $295.94 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $64.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $284.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $262.15. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $218.63 and a 52 week high of $301.04.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AJG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $233.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $267.00 in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Bank Of America (Bofa) increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $292.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $276.82.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.