Benjamin Edwards Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 1,486.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 101,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 94,795 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $28,473,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AJG. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,305,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,462,392,000 after acquiring an additional 580,134 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,196,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $899,538,000 after purchasing an additional 383,130 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.7% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,640,938 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $425,511,000 after purchasing an additional 42,841 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.7% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,410,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $365,718,000 after purchasing an additional 50,650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 219.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,043,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $270,660,000 after buying an additional 717,221 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of AJG opened at $312.24 on Monday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $218.63 and a 52-week high of $316.72. The stock has a market cap of $68.51 billion, a PE ratio of 59.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $290.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $279.37.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.26. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 19.12%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.78 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.00 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.12 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, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $309.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $291.64.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total value of $803,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,211,438. This represents a 16.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total value of $2,103,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 33,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,853,685.40. This represents a 17.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,900 shares of company stock worth $6,892,280 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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.