Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG is Findlay Park Partners LLP’s 2nd Largest Position

Findlay Park Partners LLP boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,069,901 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 125,800 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. comprises about 3.5% of Findlay Park Partners LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Findlay Park Partners LLP owned 0.42% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $331,391,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Andra AP fonden lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.2% in the third quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 17,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,297,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 1,895 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $587,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 49,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,342,000 after purchasing an additional 1,023 shares during the period. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,470,000. Finally, Advisor OS LLC raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 4,136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,281,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AJG shares. Mizuho raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday. Evercore cut their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $353.00 to $334.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $292.00 target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Needham & Company LLC set a $272.00 price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $300.00 target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $281.76.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE:AJG opened at $227.86 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $243.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $265.97. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $195.00 and a one year high of $351.23. The firm has a market cap of $58.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.28%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.11, for a total transaction of $1,032,440.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 17,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,472,271.97. This trade represents a 18.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 15,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 24,850 shares of company stock valued at $6,364,440 over the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.