First Horizon Advisors Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 15.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 262 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $317,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. West Family Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 1,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Heritage Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth about $1,558,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 4,299 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $967,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 177.4% during the fourth quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 5,732 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,289,000 after acquiring an additional 3,666 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 33,651 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,567,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $238.72 on Monday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $198.52 and a 1 year high of $256.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $243.70 and a 200 day moving average of $239.06. The stock has a market cap of $52.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.69.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 10.27%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.03 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 48.58%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, Director David S. Johnson sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.04, for a total value of $117,020.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 45,038 shares in the company, valued at $10,540,693.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, VP Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 12,309 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.65, for a total value of $2,925,233.85. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 322,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,712,707.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.04, for a total transaction of $117,020.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 45,038 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,540,693.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 29,016 shares of company stock valued at $7,176,180. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on AJG shares. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $255.00 price objective (down previously from $280.00) on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $240.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $253.00 to $252.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $255.31.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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.