Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) was in 21 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the first quarter of 2013. AJG has seen an increase in support from the world’s most elite money managers of late. There were 13 hedge funds in our database with AJG positions at the end of the previous quarter.
To the average investor, there are dozens of metrics market participants can use to monitor their holdings. A pair of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite money managers can trounce the market by a solid margin (see just how much).
Just as beneficial, bullish insider trading activity is another way to parse down the marketplace. Just as you’d expect, there are plenty of motivations for an executive to sell shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would initiate a purchase. Many academic studies have demonstrated the useful potential of this method if investors know where to look (learn more here).
Consequently, we’re going to take a look at the key action regarding Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG).
Hedge fund activity in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)
Heading into Q2, a total of 21 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of 62% from the previous quarter. With the smart money’s positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings meaningfully.
According to our comprehensive database, Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, holds the largest position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG). Citadel Investment Group has a $162.3 million position in the stock, comprising 0.2% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Chuck Royce of Royce & Associates, with a $62.2 million position; 0.2% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Other hedge funds that are bullish include Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management and Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management.
As industrywide interest jumped, some big names were leading the bulls’ herd. Renaissance Technologies, managed by Jim Simons, created the most outsized position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG). Renaissance Technologies had 32.2 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Martin D. Sass’s MD Sass also initiated a $21 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new AJG investors: Donald Chiboucis’s Columbus Circle Investors, James Dondero’s Highland Capital Management, and Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management.
What have insiders been doing with Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)?
Insider buying is at its handiest when the company in question has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last half-year time period, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) has experienced zero unique insiders purchasing, and 12 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG). These stocks are Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC), Aon PLC (NYSE:AON), Erie Indemnity Company (NASDAQ:ERIE), Willis Group Holdings PLC (NYSE:WSH), and Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO). This group of stocks are the members of the insurance brokers industry and their market caps match AJG’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (NYSE:MMC) | 24 | 1 | 9 |
| Aon PLC (NYSE:AON) | 31 | 1 | 6 |
| Erie Indemnity Company (NASDAQ:ERIE) | 7 | 1 | 2 |
| Willis Group Holdings PLC (NYSE:WSH) | 19 | 0 | 13 |
| Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO) | 18 | 1 | 8 |
With the returns shown by the aforementioned research, everyday investors must always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.
