Journey Advisory Group LLC Raises Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Journey Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,789 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the period. Journey Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $6,015,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AJG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 38.3% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,372,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,997,767,000 after purchasing an additional 4,815,007 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,411,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,499,185,000 after purchasing an additional 739,130 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth $240,665,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3,142.2% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 640,911 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $221,268,000 after purchasing an additional 621,143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth $136,565,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of AJG stock opened at $280.70 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $299.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $313.64. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $275.56 and a twelve month high of $351.23. The company has a market capitalization of $71.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.87 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.36 by ($0.03). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 36.93%.

Insider Activity

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total value of $3,825,648.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at $25,569,792. The trade was a 13.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total value of $2,396,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 100,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,186,742.58. This trade represents a 7.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,855 shares of company stock valued at $8,916,928 in the last 90 days. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AJG. UBS Group lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Citigroup began coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $317.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $365.00 to $366.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $288.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $331.43.

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.