Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Holdings Boosted by Lido Advisors LLC

Lido Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 67.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,348 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,790 shares during the quarter. Lido Advisors LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $3,108,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Prosperity Bancshares Inc bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $247.57 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $226.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $225.22. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $190.75 and a 52-week high of $315.48. The firm has a market cap of $63.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.06, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.50.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.04. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The company had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.67 EPS. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 29.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.31%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $618,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 47,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,850,714. This trade represents a 5.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AJG. UBS Group boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $250.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Citigroup raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $280.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $235.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.35.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.