Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Stake Boosted by Fidelis Capital Partners LLC

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 11.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 167 shares during the quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $444,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,776 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $461,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter valued at $1,569,000. Prospector Partners LLC lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Prospector Partners LLC now owns 80,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,928,000 after acquiring an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 44,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,508,000 after acquiring an additional 2,386 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 11.4% in the 2nd quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $276.06 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.32 billion, a PE ratio of 55.88, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $218.63 and a 1 year high of $301.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $285.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $262.94.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.02. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 10.41%. The business had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. During the same period in the previous 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 anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.16 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 48.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on AJG. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays began coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $300.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $267.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $282.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was 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 directly owns 329,099 shares in the company, valued at $93,121,853.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.68, for a total transaction of $1,992,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,963 shares in the company, valued at $21,625,146.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the president now owns 329,099 shares in the company, valued at $93,121,853.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 44,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,622,660. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

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.