Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Purchased by Citigroup Inc.

Citigroup Inc. grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 101.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 305,002 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 153,884 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.14% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $85,819,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 89.7% in the second quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 110 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,211,438. This trade represents a 16.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.68, for a total value of $1,992,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,625,146.84. This represents a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $6,892,280. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:AJG traded up $1.85 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $304.29. 626,002 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 854,435. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $288.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $276.96. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $218.63 and a 52 week high of $308.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.72.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.26. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 10.40%. The business's revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.00 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. 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 research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $309.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Bank Of America (Bofa) raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $289.71.

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.