LPL Financial LLC Has $77.81 Million Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 23.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 225,382 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 42,912 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $77,811,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Winslow Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $719,489,000. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,199,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,327,403,000 after buying an additional 1,910,471 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1,511.2% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,758,166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $499,055,000 after buying an additional 1,649,046 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 53,148.8% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,319,505 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $374,541,000 after acquiring an additional 1,317,027 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ghisallo Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth $269,658,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total value of $342,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 45,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,502,278.92. The trade was a 2.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total value of $4,645,755.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 11,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,109,256.33. This represents a 53.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,528,080. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $285.49 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $73.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.32 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a 50 day moving average of $320.04 and a 200 day moving average of $322.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $274.25 and a 1-year high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.39% and a return on equity of 14.83%. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.45 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 37.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $372.00 to $371.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $322.31.

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.