Stifel Financial Corp Purchases 19,793 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 11.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 189,201 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 19,793 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp owned 0.08% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $53,709,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at $1,421,591,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,672,134 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,422,435,000 after purchasing an additional 3,851,661 shares in the last quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $719,489,000. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,199,413 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,327,403,000 after acquiring an additional 1,910,471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 162.0% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,822,319 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $801,115,000 after purchasing an additional 1,745,283 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on AJG shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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 research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $315.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.33, for a total value of $760,825.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,031,487.89. This represents a 13.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total transaction of $877,569.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,440,499.14. The trade was a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,235 shares of company stock worth $7,478,224. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG stock traded down $9.15 on Friday, reaching $322.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,164,261 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,272,524. The company has a market capitalization of $82.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.44 and a beta of 0.64. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $232.27 and a 12-month high of $350.70. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $330.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $307.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is currently 39.88%.

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.