Prospera Financial Services Inc Acquires 2,110 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 15,189 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,110 shares during the quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $4,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 180.6% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,228,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $307,076,000 after acquiring an additional 790,467 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,050,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,763,177,000 after purchasing an additional 727,325 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 219.6% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,043,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $270,660,000 after purchasing an additional 717,221 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 231.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 885,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $249,237,000 after buying an additional 618,362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

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

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.68, for a total transaction of $1,992,760.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,963 shares in the company, valued at $21,625,146.84. This trade represents a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total transaction of $803,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,211,438. The trade was a 16.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $6,892,280 in the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 0.4 %

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $292.33 on Wednesday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $218.63 and a fifty-two week high of $301.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.14 billion, a PE ratio of 55.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s 50-day moving average is $288.25 and its 200-day moving average is $275.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.26. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 10.40%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.00 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AJG. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays started coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen upped their price target on 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. Bank Of America (Bofa) increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $309.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $289.14.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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.