PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Has $22.50 Million Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. decreased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 86,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,442 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $22,497,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,338,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,299,674,000 after purchasing an additional 3,330,205 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9,244.9% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,053,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $272,670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,042,361 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,107,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $962,483,000 after purchasing an additional 725,555 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 26.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 593,483 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,270,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,013,100,000 after purchasing an additional 395,304 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AJG shares. UBS Group set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $266.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $262.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 1.2%

AJG stock opened at $204.89 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $190.75 and a 12-month high of $351.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market cap of $52.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.15, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50 day moving average of $211.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $232.49.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released 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 net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The company had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.67 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $908,480.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 19,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,384,778.72. This trade represents a 17.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total transaction of $864,766.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at $19,552,814.40. This represents a 4.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.