Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Sold by Ascent Group LLC

Ascent Group LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 41.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,630 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $1,842,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 219.6% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,043,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $270,660,000 after purchasing an additional 717,221 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 231.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 885,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $249,237,000 after buying an additional 618,362 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,305,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,462,392,000 after buying an additional 580,134 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,196,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $899,538,000 after acquiring an additional 383,130 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 29,927.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 232,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $65,394,000 after acquiring an additional 231,638 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on AJG. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $254.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $291.64.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $307.99 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $67.57 billion, a PE ratio of 58.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $218.63 and a twelve month high of $316.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $291.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $279.74.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 10.40%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.00 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.71%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total transaction of $803,600.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,211,438. The trade was a 16.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total transaction of $2,103,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 33,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,853,685.40. This trade represents a 17.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $6,892,280. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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.