William Blair Investment Management LLC Makes New Investment in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 52,624 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $14,937,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 8,180 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,302,000 after buying an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the third quarter valued at about $1,143,000. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 16.1% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 15,189 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,274,000 after acquiring an additional 2,110 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the third quarter valued at about $4,815,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 59,936 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $16,864,000 after purchasing an additional 2,384 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 1.9 %

AJG stock traded up $6.31 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $338.10. The stock had a trading volume of 1,226,366 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,147,788. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $230.08 and a 12-month high of $345.43. The firm has a market cap of $86.11 billion, a PE ratio of 51.86 and a beta of 0.75. The company's 50-day moving average price is $316.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $299.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51.

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Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.88%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total value of $104,669.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 44,783 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,422,812.98. This trade represents a 0.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total value of $2,505,260.90. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 90,020 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,029,771.80. This represents a 7.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 23,235 shares of company stock worth $7,478,224. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AJG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $313.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $341.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. TD Cowen raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $295.00 to $377.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $310.43.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co engages in the provision of insurance brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party claims settlement and administration services. It operates through the following segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.