PFG Advisors Purchases 1,907 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

PFG Advisors increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,214 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,907 shares during the quarter. PFG Advisors’ holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $5,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of AJG. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its stake in 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $294.65 on Thursday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $218.63 and a 12 month high of $300.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $282.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $260.53. 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 has a market cap of $64.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.72.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.58%.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 8,303 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.74, for a total value of $2,181,530.22. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 36,388 shares in the company, valued at $9,560,583.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 8,303 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.74, for a total value of $2,181,530.22. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 36,388 shares in the company, valued at $9,560,583.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 6,335 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.06, for a total value of $1,799,520.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 30,053 shares in the company, valued at $8,536,855.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 48,348 shares of company stock worth $13,342,910 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AJG. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $233.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $241.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $267.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $276.82.

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.