HRT Financial LP Purchases Shares of 104,807 Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

HRT Financial LP acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 104,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $33,550,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AJG. J.Safra Asset Management Corp increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 209.1% during the 2nd quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth approximately $34,000. Steph & Co. acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Michael Robert Pesch bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $247.12 per share, for a total transaction of $988,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 41,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,341,724.88. This represents a 10.57% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.74, for a total transaction of $313,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 17,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,344,571.98. This trade represents a 6.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 21,250 shares of company stock valued at $6,071,365 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AJG shares. Barclays lowered shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $328.00 to $250.00 in a report on Thursday, November 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $361.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $330.00 to $277.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Wolfe Research started coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $291.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $314.87.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $255.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $263.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $292.82. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $236.34 and a 12 month high of $351.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.60 billion, a PE ratio of 38.19 and a beta of 0.69.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.34 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 13.58% and a return on equity of 11.98%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.26 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.86%.

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.