Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Position Lessened by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 9.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 103,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,460 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $29,237,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 89.7% during the second quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 0.5 %

AJG stock traded down $1.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $289.25. 738,646 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 847,613. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $218.63 and a 52-week high of $301.04. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $288.84 and its 200-day moving average is $267.65. The company has a market cap of $63.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AJG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $309.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Bank Of America (Bofa) boosted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Three equities 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $287.00.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 6,335 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.06, for a total value of $1,799,520.10. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 30,053 shares in the company, valued at $8,536,855.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, President Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.96, for a total value of $4,244,400.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 329,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $93,121,853.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 6,335 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.06, for a total transaction of $1,799,520.10. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 30,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,536,855.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 44,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,622,660 over the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.