Heritage Family Offices LLP Raises Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Heritage Family Offices LLP lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 31.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,860 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,882 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. makes up approximately 1.1% of Heritage Family Offices LLP's holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Heritage Family Offices LLP's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $2,231,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,305,478 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,462,392,000 after buying an additional 580,134 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,932,007 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,513,199,000 after buying an additional 47,656 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,490,728 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,541,044,000 after buying an additional 79,429 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.6% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,196,992 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $899,538,000 after buying an additional 383,130 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.7% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,640,938 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $425,511,000 after buying an additional 42,841 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.70, for a total value of $1,992,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,626,666.10. This trade represents a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on AJG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $313.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, November 25th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target 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. TD Cowen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $295.00 to $377.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $304.07.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded up $5.46 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $295.65. The company had a trading volume of 1,230,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,197,538. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.31 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a 50 day moving average of $291.88 and a 200 day moving average of $286.36. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $227.08 and a 52-week high of $316.72.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, meeting 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 business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.00 EPS. The company's revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

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

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.