Hobbs Group Advisors LLC Purchases New Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $40,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Security National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.45, for a total transaction of $2,634,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 93,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,693,168.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 6,335 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.06, for a total transaction of $1,799,520.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 30,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,536,855.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.45, for a total value of $2,634,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 93,730 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,693,168.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 48,348 shares of company stock valued at $13,342,910 in the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE AJG traded up $1.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $289.40. 70,528 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 834,996. The company has a 50 day moving average of $271.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $254.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $218.63 and a 52-week high of $290.31. The firm has a market cap of $63.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.33, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.72.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 10.41%. The business’s revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.90 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $267.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $282.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $275.38.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.