C WorldWide Group Holding A S Buys 2,675 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

C WorldWide Group Holding A S increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 40.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,675 shares during the period. C WorldWide Group Holding A S’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $2,857,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,096,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,954,625,000 after purchasing an additional 685,278 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,743,493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,439,207,000 after buying an additional 117,646 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,536,230,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 26.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,866,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $887,976,000 after acquiring an additional 593,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,464,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $783,097,000 after acquiring an additional 128,071 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG opened at $242.65 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $62.31 billion, a PE ratio of 39.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $252.94 and a 200-day moving average of $274.81. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $236.34 and a one year high of $351.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 12.13%. The business had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 33.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on AJG shares. Wolfe Research set a $289.00 price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $279.00 to $249.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $284.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.11, for a total transaction of $1,032,440.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 17,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,472,271.97. The trade was a 18.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.00, for a total value of $1,566,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 50,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,224,348. This represents a 10.59% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 32,100 shares of company stock valued at $8,243,865 over the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.