Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Purchased by Parallel Advisors LLC

Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 34.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,660 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 941 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $949,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 89.7% during the 2nd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG opened at $299.55 on Tuesday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $218.63 and a 1 year high of $301.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company’s fifty day moving average is $284.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $261.78.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.02. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The firm had revenue of $2.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.96, for a total transaction of $4,244,400.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 329,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $93,121,853.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 6,335 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.06, for a total transaction of $1,799,520.10. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 30,053 shares in the company, valued at $8,536,855.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.96, for a total value of $4,244,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 329,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $93,121,853.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 37,145 shares of company stock worth $10,629,900. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AJG has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $282.00 to $301.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $267.00 in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Bank Of America (Bofa) lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $300.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $276.82.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.