Winslow Capital Management LLC Takes $719.49 Million Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Winslow Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,534,749 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $719,489,000. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. comprises about 2.6% of Winslow Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Winslow Capital Management LLC owned 1.01% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AJG. APG Asset Management N.V. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 223.5% during the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 348,034 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $95,403,000 after purchasing an additional 240,447 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 8,353 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,371,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. RiverGlades Family Offices LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. RiverGlades Family Offices LLC now owns 1,863 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $529,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 91.0% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 173,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $49,163,000 after buying an additional 82,500 shares during the period. Finally, FIL Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 858,487 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $243,682,000 after buying an additional 5,965 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 2.4 %

AJG stock traded up $8.05 during trading on Monday, reaching $342.07. 285,746 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,254,929. The firm has a market cap of $87.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.46 and a beta of 0.64. The firm's 50 day moving average is $329.06 and its 200 day moving average is $304.34. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $230.08 and a twelve month high of $350.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 16.47%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.65 dividend. 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 yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $315.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 directly owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at $4,440,499.14. The trade was a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total value of $104,669.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 44,783 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,422,812.98. The trade was a 0.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,235 shares of company stock worth $7,478,224 over the last ninety days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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.