AGF Management Ltd. Invests $9.24 Million in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

AGF Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 29,823 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,237,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. J.Safra Asset Management Corp grew its holdings 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 worth $32,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% during the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 40.6% in the 3rd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Solstein Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth $49,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of AJG stock opened at $245.46 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $236.34 and a fifty-two week high of $351.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $253.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $275.67. The stock has a market cap of $63.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.66.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 12.13%. The business had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 42.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC set a $272.00 price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Thursday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $289.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $277.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $284.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.00, for a total value of $1,566,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 50,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,224,348. This trade represents a 10.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.11, for a total transaction of $1,032,440.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 17,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,472,271.97. The trade was a 18.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 32,100 shares of company stock worth $8,243,865 over the last three months. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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.