Heffernan Advisory Inc. Acquires New Shares in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Heffernan Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 126,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $28,837,000. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. accounts for approximately 19.5% of Heffernan Advisory Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 56.8% during the third quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 7,578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,729,000 after buying an additional 2,746 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 137.8% in the third quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 6,183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,410,000 after buying an additional 3,583 shares in the last quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the third quarter worth about $60,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.2% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,497 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,491,000 after acquiring an additional 1,046 shares during the period. Finally, Rench Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Rench Wealth Management Inc. now owns 52,366 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,022,000 after acquiring an additional 594 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG stock traded up $0.36 on Tuesday, reaching $234.28. 244,975 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,887,195. The company has a market cap of $60.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $246.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $231.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $190.75 and a 1 year high of $304.57.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted 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 analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.33 EPS. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 46.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AJG. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $278.00 to $255.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Wolfe Research downgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $277.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.74.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Scott Hudson sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.13, for a total transaction of $3,169,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 90,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,840,902.06. The trade was a 11.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Walter Bay sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.08, for a total value of $3,240,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 71,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,254,543.36. This represents a 14.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 28,500 shares of company stock valued at $7,562,950. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting company headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. The company helps businesses, public entities and individuals identify, manage and transfer risk through insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting, risk management and related advisory services.

Gallagher operates through several businesses, including retail insurance brokerage, wholesale brokerage and reinsurance brokerage. Its Gallagher Re business provides reinsurance broking and advisory services, while Gallagher Bassett provides third-party claims administration and related risk management services.