Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Stake Boosted by Cardinal Capital Management Inc.

Cardinal Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 51,044 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,334 shares during the quarter. Cardinal Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $11,644,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Triumph Capital Management raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4,000.0% in the third quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. NFSG Corp grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4,033.3% during the 3rd quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded up $4.45 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $254.55. The company had a trading volume of 1,206,907 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,480,269. The company’s 50-day moving average is $246.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $232.18. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $190.75 and a twelve month high of $284.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a market cap of $65.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.55.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.33 EPS. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 46.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AJG. Seaport Research Partners raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Argus upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $267.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $292.00 to $271.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.74.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.08, for a total value of $3,240,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 71,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,254,543.36. This represents a 14.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.02, for a total transaction of $899,570.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 22,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,711,755.46. This trade represents a 13.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 28,500 shares of company stock worth $7,562,950 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting company headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. The company helps businesses, public entities and individuals identify, manage and transfer risk through insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting, risk management and related advisory services.

Gallagher operates through several businesses, including retail insurance brokerage, wholesale brokerage and reinsurance brokerage. Its Gallagher Re business provides reinsurance broking and advisory services, while Gallagher Bassett provides third-party claims administration and related risk management services.