Otter Creek Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Otter Creek Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. accounts for about 3.1% of Otter Creek Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Otter Creek Advisors LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $4,840,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 89.7% during the 2nd 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. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 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, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total value of $803,600.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,211,438. This represents a 16.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total transaction of $2,103,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 33,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,853,685.40. The trade was a 17.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $6,892,280 over the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on AJG shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on 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. UBS Group upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $292.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. TD Cowen upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Bank Of America (Bofa) increased their target price on 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, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $309.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.71.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

AJG stock opened at $303.27 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $218.63 and a one year high of $303.67. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $288.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $276.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company has a market capitalization of $66.54 billion, a PE ratio of 57.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.72.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 19.12%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.00 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 45.71%.

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.