Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 7,368 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 523,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,368 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.24% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $151,612,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. W Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.4% in the third quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 1,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $426,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.8% in the third quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 4,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,289,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Covenant Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% in the third quarter. Covenant Partners LLC now owns 5,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,499,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% in the third quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC now owns 5,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,635,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seelaus Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% in the third quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 5,481 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,542,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.68, for a total transaction of $1,992,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,625,146.84. This trade represents a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total value of $803,600.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,211,438. The trade was a 16.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,800 shares of company stock valued at $4,789,260. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

AJG opened at $284.59 on Monday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $218.63 and a 12-month high of $316.72. The stock has a market cap of $71.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.21, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50 day moving average of $293.33 and a 200-day moving average of $282.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 10.40%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.78 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.00 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 45.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AJG shares. Barclays increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $296.57.

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.