Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Bought by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 66,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,401 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $20,567,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the third quarter valued at $9,877,000. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 107.1% in the 2nd quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 14,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,642,000 after purchasing an additional 7,500 shares during the last quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 21.4% in the 2nd quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 9,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,758 shares in the last quarter. Petra Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth about $812,000. Finally, Boston Partners grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.4% in the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 735,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $234,226,000 after purchasing an additional 2,806 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on AJG shares. Evercore reduced their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $353.00 to $334.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Citigroup upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $277.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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 report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $279.00 to $249.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Six 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, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $284.12.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 17,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,472,271.97. This represents a 18.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 5,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.05, for a total transaction of $1,290,250.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 95,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,715,254.85. This represents a 4.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders 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. Stock Performance

AJG stock opened at $218.47 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $195.00 and a 1 year high of $351.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.52, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.66. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $247.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $268.80.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.61 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 12.13%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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.