World Investment Advisors Has $1.79 Million Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

World Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 79.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,326 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $1,788,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AJG. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,825,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,429,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.3% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 118,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,924,000 after buying an additional 5,947 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,919.2% in the second quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 19,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,398,000 after buying an additional 19,325 shares during the period. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at approximately $412,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AJG. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $259.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 13th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $275.00 to $278.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $266.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $280.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $268.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $199.81 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $190.75 and a 52 week high of $351.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company has a market capitalization of $51.33 billion, a PE ratio of 32.33, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $213.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $234.54.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.04. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The company had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.31%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $908,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 19,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,384,778.72. This trade represents a 17.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total transaction of $864,766.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,552,814.40. This represents a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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.