Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Bought by Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 92.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 25,109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,037 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $8,669,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of AJG. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 205.4% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Centennial Bank AR purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,750.0% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $345.00 to $322.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $317.00 target price for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $331.07.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.17, for a total value of $3,540,285.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 91,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,741,474.75. This represents a 10.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total transaction of $342,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 45,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,502,278.92. This represents a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $8,528,080. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $295.23 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.94 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s 50-day moving average is $309.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $322.41. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $274.25 and a 1-year high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.36 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.93%.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.