Renaissance Investment Group LLC Increases Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Renaissance Investment Group LLC increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 33,377 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,636 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. comprises 2.0% of Renaissance Investment Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Renaissance Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $9,391,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at about $3,841,000. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 70.4% during the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 12,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,213,000 after buying an additional 5,308 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 194,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,649,000 after buying an additional 20,302 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $979,000. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at about $3,297,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.07, for a total value of $2,482,959.70. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,654,772.41. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,710 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.07, for a total value of $2,482,959.70. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,654,772.41. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.68, for a total value of $1,992,760.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,625,146.84. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 44,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,622,660 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $287.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $218.63 and a 1-year high of $301.04. The company has a market capitalization of $62.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.28, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50 day moving average of $288.04 and a 200 day moving average of $266.37.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.02. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 10.41%. The firm had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 48.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on AJG. UBS Group lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $292.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $241.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $309.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $300.00 price target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $287.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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.