Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Acquired by Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 323.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 408,403 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 311,900 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.16% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $115,925,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Allred Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Allred Capital Management LLC now owns 3,380 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $960,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,380 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $959,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,310 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $940,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 1,173 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $333,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brendel Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,237 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,054,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded down $9.15 on Friday, hitting $322.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,164,261 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,272,524. The company has a market capitalization of $82.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.44 and a beta of 0.64. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $232.27 and a 1 year high of $350.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $330.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $307.17.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AJG shares. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. TD Cowen raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $295.00 to $377.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $315.27.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.33, for a total value of $760,825.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,031,487.89. The trade was a 13.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total value of $104,669.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 44,783 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,422,812.98. The trade was a 0.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 23,235 shares of company stock valued at $7,478,224. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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.