SG Americas Securities LLC Has $8.08 Million Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 373.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,215 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 24,625 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $8,078,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $6,299,674,000 after acquiring an additional 3,330,205 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 11,783,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,649,477,000 after purchasing an additional 101,298 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,891,080 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,373,403,000 after purchasing an additional 147,587 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,194,743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,228,156,000 after purchasing an additional 45,256 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,270,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,013,100,000 after buying an additional 395,304 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 85,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,552,814.40. This trade represents a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $908,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 19,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,384,778.72. This trade represents a 17.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $216.15 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $55.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.15, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $195.00 and a 12 month high of $351.23. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $224.33 and its 200-day moving average is $253.15.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AJG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $275.00 to $278.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Needham & Company LLC set a $272.00 target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Wall Street Zen raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $279.00 to $249.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $273.82.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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.