Heartland Bank & Trust Co Purchases Shares of 3,492 Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Heartland Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 3,492 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $802,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% in 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. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.02, for a total transaction of $899,570.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 22,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,711,755.46. This represents a 13.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $618,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 47,819 shares in the company, valued at $9,850,714. This trade represents a 5.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AJG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $291.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $299.00 to $296.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $290.28.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $263.24 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $244.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $225.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $190.75 and a 1-year high of $313.55.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.28% and a net margin of 9.96%.The business had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 46.43%.

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.