Sigma Planning Corp Buys 2,404 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Sigma Planning Corp raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 147.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,035 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,404 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $1,292,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AJG. World Investment Advisors lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 22.9% in the first quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 1,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $433,000 after buying an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.5% in the first quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 23,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,157,000 after buying an additional 792 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.7% in the first quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 30,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,522,000 after buying an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 12.4% in the first quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,556 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $537,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Personal CFO Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.1% in the first quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 2,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $746,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AJG shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $365.00 to $366.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $361.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.73.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total value of $3,825,648.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,569,792. This represents a 13.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Michael Robert Pesch acquired 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $247.12 per share, for a total transaction of $988,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 41,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,341,724.88. This trade represents a 10.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 29,855 shares of company stock valued at $8,916,928 over the last ninety days. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE AJG opened at $248.19 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $291.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $308.32. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $239.47 and a 1 year high of $351.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.25 and a beta of 0.71.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.19). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%.The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.34 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.26 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.86%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

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.