Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. Has $11.28 Million Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 43,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,778 shares during the quarter. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $11,283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth $27,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 89.7% in the second quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Security National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 8,303 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.74, for a total transaction of $2,181,530.22. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 36,388 shares in the company, valued at $9,560,583.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 8,303 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.74, for a total value of $2,181,530.22. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 36,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,560,583.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,710 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.07, for a total transaction of $2,482,959.70. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares in the company, valued at $21,654,772.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 48,348 shares of company stock worth $13,342,910. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $292.57 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $276.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $257.33. The company has a market cap of $64.10 billion, a PE ratio of 59.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $218.63 and a twelve month high of $294.00.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.90 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.16 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 48.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on AJG. Bank Of America (Bofa) upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Argus boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $233.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus 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.