Bristlecone Advisors LLC Acquires 4,688 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Bristlecone Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 7.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 69,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,688 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. accounts for 1.6% of Bristlecone Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Bristlecone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $19,477,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 180.6% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,228,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $307,076,000 after buying an additional 790,467 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,050,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,763,177,000 after purchasing an additional 727,325 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 219.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,043,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $270,660,000 after purchasing an additional 717,221 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9.0% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,832,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,208,208,000 after buying an additional 398,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 29,927.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 232,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $65,394,000 after buying an additional 231,638 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of AJG opened at $282.97 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $218.63 and a 12 month high of $301.04. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $289.22 and its 200-day moving average is $269.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.83 billion, a PE ratio of 57.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.72.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 10.41%. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.00 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.11 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 48.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on AJG. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank Of America (Bofa) lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $287.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.07, for a total value of $2,482,959.70. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,654,772.41. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,710 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.07, for a total value of $2,482,959.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,654,772.41. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.96, for a total transaction of $4,244,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 329,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $93,121,853.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 44,145 shares of company stock worth $12,622,660 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.