Moore Capital Management LP Takes Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Moore Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 18,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,248,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG opened at $262.39 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $190.75 and a 1-year high of $313.55. The stock has a market cap of $67.25 billion, a PE ratio of 43.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $250.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $226.19.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.33 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.28 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.02, for a total value of $899,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 22,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,711,755.46. The trade was a 13.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.08, for a total transaction of $3,240,960.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 71,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,254,543.36. This trade represents a 14.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Mizuho increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $290.28.

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.