Bank of New York Mellon Corp Reduces Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Bank of New York Mellon Corp decreased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,287,455 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 19,020 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $278,837,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AJG. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% in the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 668.2% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on AJG shares. BMO Capital Markets raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $275.00 to $278.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $235.00 to $265.00 in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Citigroup raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $280.00 to $250.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $261.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $250.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $280.35.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $618,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 47,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,850,714. The trade was a 5.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $254.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $190.75 and a 1 year high of $316.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.35 billion, a PE ratio of 41.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.50. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $221.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $225.67.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.04. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 10.76%.The business had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.67 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 45.31%.

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.