Ritholtz Wealth Management Purchases 747 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 9,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 747 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $3,148,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 60.9% in the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $472,000 after buying an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 209.1% during the second quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 23.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,761 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $564,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter worth $1,269,000. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 29.0% during the 2nd quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,019 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $296.67 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $299.93 and a 200-day moving average of $314.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.14 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $275.56 and a twelve month high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly 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). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 36.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AJG. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $288.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 7th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $317.00 target price for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $344.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $331.43.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total transaction of $3,825,648.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at $25,569,792. The trade was a 13.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total transaction of $2,396,320.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 100,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,186,742.58. This trade represents a 7.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,855 shares of company stock valued at $8,916,928 over the last ninety days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.