17,114 Shares in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Bought by B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 17,114 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,815,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 15.7% during the third quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 109,639 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,450,000 after purchasing an additional 14,860 shares during the last quarter. MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $749,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 29.9% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 161,028 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $41,756,000 after acquiring an additional 37,070 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth $3,297,000. Finally, Marsico Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 316.9% in the second quarter. Marsico Capital Management LLC now owns 11,447 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,968,000 after purchasing an additional 8,701 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on 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. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $289.14.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total transaction of $803,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,211,438. This represents a 16.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total value of $2,103,020.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 33,267 shares in the company, valued at $9,853,685.40. This trade represents a 17.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,900 shares of company stock worth $6,892,280 in the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $292.33 on Wednesday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $218.63 and a 12 month high of $301.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market cap of $64.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50 day moving average of $288.25 and a 200 day moving average of $275.98.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.26. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 10.40%. The firm's revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.00 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is 45.71%.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.

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