FIL Ltd Boosts Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

FIL Ltd raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 858,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,965 shares during the period. FIL Ltd owned 0.34% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $243,682,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,672,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,422,435,000 after purchasing an additional 3,851,661 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,277,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,779,248,000 after buying an additional 787,265 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,421,591,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 162.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,822,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $801,115,000 after acquiring an additional 1,745,283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,029,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $576,004,000 after purchasing an additional 184,960 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total transaction of $104,669.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 44,783 shares in the company, valued at $14,422,812.98. This trade represents a 0.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total value of $2,505,260.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 90,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,029,771.80. The trade was a 7.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,235 shares of company stock valued at $7,478,224. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 0.1 %

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $310.68 on Wednesday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $230.08 and a fifty-two week high of $350.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.65 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $327.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $303.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.51.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 16.47%. Analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 39.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on AJG shares. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $341.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $313.20.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co engages in the provision of insurance brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party claims settlement and administration services. It operates through the following segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.