Brevan Howard Capital Management LP Buys Shares of 51,969 Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 51,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $16,636,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at about $1,536,230,000. Sands Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 453.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 1,121,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $358,934,000 after acquiring an additional 918,618 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 41,475.5% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 770,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $246,619,000 after acquiring an additional 768,541 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,096,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,954,625,000 after purchasing an additional 685,278 shares during the period. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3,142.2% in the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 640,911 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $221,268,000 after purchasing an additional 621,143 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $255.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The company has a market cap of $65.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.19 and a beta of 0.69. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $263.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $292.82. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $236.34 and a 1-year high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.19). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 11.98% and a net margin of 13.58%.The company had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.26 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.86%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 1,250 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.74, for a total transaction of $313,425.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 17,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,344,571.98. The trade was a 6.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael Robert Pesch bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $247.12 per share, with a total value of $988,480.00. Following the purchase, the vice president owned 41,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,341,724.88. This represents a 10.57% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 21,250 shares of company stock valued at $6,071,365 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $362.00 to $344.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Friday, October 31st. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $353.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup dropped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $330.00 to $277.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.87.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co engages in the provision of insurance brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party claims settlement and administration services. It operates through the following segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.