North Dakota State Investment Board Makes New $2.25 Million Investment in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 8,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,250,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $949,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 1,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $501,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 1,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $480,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $349,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 10,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,604,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 3.7%

AJG stock opened at $207.30 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $212.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $233.80. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $190.75 and a fifty-two 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 firm has a market cap of $53.26 billion, a PE ratio of 33.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.54.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.67 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AJG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $262.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $268.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value 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 approximately $4,384,778.72. This trade represents a 17.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total transaction of $864,766.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,552,814.40. This trade represents a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.