Zacks Investment Management Sells 53,936 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Zacks Investment Management lowered its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 488,589 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 53,936 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. accounts for approximately 1.3% of Zacks Investment Management's holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Zacks Investment Management owned about 0.20% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $138,686,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 2.7 %

NYSE AJG traded down $8.87 during trading on Monday, hitting $320.35. The stock had a trading volume of 192,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,260,988. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $232.27 and a 12 month high of $350.70. The company has a market capitalization of $81.92 billion, a PE ratio of 49.13 and a beta of 0.64. The company's 50-day moving average price is $330.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $306.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.51.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share 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, sell-side 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AJG shares. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $295.00 to $377.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. Barclays lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, 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 for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $315.27.

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

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total value of $3,229,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 69,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,536,304.26. This represents a 12.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total value of $2,505,260.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 90,020 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,029,771.80. This represents a 7.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,235 shares of company stock worth $7,478,224 in the last quarter. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.