Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 1.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 489,786 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,223 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.22% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $137,811,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 15.7% during the 3rd 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. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its stake 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 buying an additional 37,070 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at $3,297,000. Marsico Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 316.9% in the 2nd quarter. Marsico Capital Management LLC now owns 11,447 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,968,000 after acquiring an additional 8,701 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 11.9% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 88,759 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $22,147,000 after purchasing an additional 9,428 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total transaction of $2,103,020.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 33,267 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,853,685.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total value of $803,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,211,438. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 33,267 shares in the company, valued at $9,853,685.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $6,892,280. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on AJG. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $300.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $289.14.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG traded up $3.05 on Wednesday, reaching $298.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 965,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 846,516. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $288.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $273.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.81, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $218.63 and a 12-month high of $301.04.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $2.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.00 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is 45.71%.

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.