Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Sold by Capital Group Private Client Services Inc.

Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. lessened its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 209,101 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,228 shares during the quarter. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. owned about 0.08% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $59,353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 67,146 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $18,893,000 after purchasing an additional 11,752 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 231.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 885,796 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $249,237,000 after acquiring an additional 618,362 shares during the last quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 48,722 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,830,000 after acquiring an additional 3,983 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 22,436 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,381,000 after purchasing an additional 3,217 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. Campbell Newman Asset Management Inc. now owns 141,163 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,069,000 after purchasing an additional 17,196 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $315.27.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

AJG stock traded up $0.86 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $331.61. 427,768 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,261,604. 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 current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $330.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $306.48. The firm has a market cap of $84.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.86 and a beta of 0.64.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share 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, analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction of $760,825.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total value of $877,569.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,440,499.14. This represents a 16.50 % 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. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.