16,330 Shares in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Acquired by Carderock Capital Management Inc.

Carderock Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 16,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,749,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,390,446 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,123,534,000 after buying an additional 217,136 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,613,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,264,359,000 after acquiring an additional 830,252 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,953,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,834,682,000 after acquiring an additional 62,518 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth about $1,925,062,000. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 123.5% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,887,538 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,523,636,000 after purchasing an additional 3,253,498 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $248.43 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $233.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $224.68. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $190.75 and a 1-year high of $313.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $63.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.50.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 9.96% and a return on equity of 13.28%. The company had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.33 EPS. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s quarterly revenue was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.26 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were 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 owned 47,819 shares in the company, valued at $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 available at this link. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AJG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $299.00 to $296.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Mizuho upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $291.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $287.65.

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.