Generate Investment Management Ltd Grows Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Generate Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 200.0% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 90,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 60,000 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. accounts for about 1.0% of Generate Investment Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Generate Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $19,492,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,390,446 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,123,534,000 after buying an additional 217,136 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,613,371 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,264,359,000 after acquiring an additional 830,252 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,953,598 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,834,682,000 after acquiring an additional 62,518 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at $1,925,062,000. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,194,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,228,156,000 after acquiring an additional 45,256 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $209.15 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $210.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $226.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $190.75 and a twelve month high of $327.34. The company has a market capitalization of $53.73 billion, a PE ratio of 33.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.53.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.04. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 10.76%.The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.24 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $618,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 47,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,850,714. The trade was a 5.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on AJG shares. BMO Capital Markets raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $275.00 to $278.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $266.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $235.00 to $242.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $262.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.12.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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.