Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Position Raised by Ballew Advisors Inc

Ballew Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 849 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. accounts for about 3.8% of Ballew Advisors Inc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Ballew Advisors Inc's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $5,940,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter worth $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 580.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 47.6% in the third quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 152 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AJG shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $292.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $304.07.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 0.2 %

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded down $0.57 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $295.22. 1,261,458 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,133,369. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $227.08 and a one year high of $316.72. The company has a market cap of $73.75 billion, a PE ratio of 56.23 and a beta of 0.76. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $291.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $286.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting 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 company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.00 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.71%.

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

In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.70, for a total transaction of $1,992,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,963 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,626,666.10. 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 stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was 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 directly owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,211,438. This represents a 16.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

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.