Caprock Group LLC Takes $9.88 Million Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 32,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,877,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 870.0% during the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. J.Safra Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 209.1% in 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 during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings 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 period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 40.6% during the third quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 100.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 15,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total value of $4,041,750.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 79,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,284,995. This trade represents a 16.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.05, for a total transaction of $1,290,250.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 95,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,715,254.85. The trade was a 4.96% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 32,100 shares of company stock valued at $8,243,865. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AJG shares. Citigroup raised their price objective 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, February 2nd. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $283.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Wolfe Research set a $289.00 price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $284.12.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

AJG opened at $212.41 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $251.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $272.45. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $210.01 and a 52-week high of $351.23. The company has a market cap of $54.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.54, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.66. 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. (NYSE:AJG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.61 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 12.13%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 33.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This is an increase 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 1.3%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 45.53%.

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.