Korea Investment CORP Increases Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Korea Investment CORP grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 148,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,111 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $46,085,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 870.0% in the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased 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 worth $42,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 100.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the third quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of AJG stock opened at $228.40 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $239.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $263.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.72 billion, a PE ratio of 37.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $195.00 and a 1-year high of $351.23.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.13% and a net margin of 11.84%.The company had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s quarterly revenue was up 33.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. 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 yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 45.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AJG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $311.00 to $298.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $300.00 price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Evercore lowered their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $353.00 to $334.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $279.00 to $249.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $289.00 to $275.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $281.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.11, for a total value of $1,032,440.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 17,327 shares in the company, valued at $4,472,271.97. This represents a 18.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.05, for a total value of $1,290,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 24,850 shares of company stock worth $6,364,440. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.