Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Boosts Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,628 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $739,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 89.7% in the 2nd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, President Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 329,099 shares in the company, valued at $93,121,853.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 6,335 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.06, for a total transaction of $1,799,520.10. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 30,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,536,855.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, President Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.96, for a total transaction of $4,244,400.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 329,099 shares in the company, valued at $93,121,853.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 44,145 shares of company stock worth $12,622,660. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

AJG stock opened at $289.19 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $288.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $267.65. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $218.63 and a 12-month high of $301.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.54, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 48.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AJG shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $309.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $241.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Bank Of America (Bofa) raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $287.00.

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.