Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Stake Boosted by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 30.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,107,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 725,555 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. accounts for 0.7% of Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 1.21% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $962,483,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $926,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $182,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.4% in the second quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 2,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $840,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. CX Institutional boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.1% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $552,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,226,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE AJG opened at $218.03 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market cap of $56.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.45, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50 day moving average of $244.18 and a 200-day moving average of $266.68. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $195.00 and a 1-year high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.61 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 12.13%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 33.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 42.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AJG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $277.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Friday, October 31st. Mizuho set a $277.00 target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $300.00 price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $311.00 to $298.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $282.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 15,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $4,041,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 79,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,284,995. This represents a 16.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.05, for a total value of $1,290,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 95,777 shares in the company, valued at $24,715,254.85. This trade represents a 4.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 24,850 shares of company stock valued at $6,364,440 in the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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.