Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Grows Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 104.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,111 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,593 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $883,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AJG. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased 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 valued at $249,237,000 after buying an additional 618,362 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,305,478 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,462,392,000 after buying an additional 580,134 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6,581.9% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 437,464 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $124,174,000 after buying an additional 430,917 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.6% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,196,992 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $899,538,000 after buying an additional 383,130 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 431.9% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 323,880 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $91,130,000 after buying an additional 262,987 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total transaction of $3,229,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 69,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,536,304.26. This represents a 12.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $4,440,499.14. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,725 shares of company stock worth $4,972,964 over the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 2.1 %

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded down $6.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $321.59. The company had a trading volume of 2,079,535 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,849,208. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $293.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $291.61. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $230.08 and a 12 month high of $329.60. The company has a market capitalization of $80.33 billion, a PE ratio of 49.32 and a beta of 0.77.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AJG. Barclays boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. TD Cowen raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $344.00 to $341.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $313.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $307.00.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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 business segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.