Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Has $3.56 Million Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG – Get Rating) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,163 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $3,557,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 49.3% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 1,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $781,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,430,000. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 38.9% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 4,669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $880,000 after purchasing an additional 1,308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 72,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,597,000 after purchasing an additional 6,118 shares during the last quarter. 82.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $218.62 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $46.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $197.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $193.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.06. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $148.24 and a 52-week high of $219.21.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 2nd will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 1st. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AJG shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $215.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $225.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Friday, April 28th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Thursday, January 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $211.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $213.00 to $211.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 17th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $228.00 to $232.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $217.71.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,204 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.62, for a total value of $697,254.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 37,285 shares in the company, valued at $8,113,961.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,204 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.62, for a total value of $697,254.48. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 37,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,113,961.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.62, for a total transaction of $189,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 46,508 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,818,846.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 125,354 shares of company stock worth $25,882,434 over the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

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Arthur J. Gallagher & Co engages in the provision of insurance 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.