Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Sold by MetLife Investment Management LLC

MetLife Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 2.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 57,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,330 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $16,205,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 132.1% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 7,189 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,798,000 after buying an additional 4,092 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 263.7% in the 1st quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 1,651 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $413,000 after acquiring an additional 1,197 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. now owns 1,765 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $441,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth $3,297,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.3% in the first quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 25,161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,291,000 after purchasing an additional 1,499 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.68, for a total value of $1,992,760.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares in the company, valued at $21,625,146.84. This trade represents a 8.44 % 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 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,853,685.40. This trade represents a 17.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,900 shares of company stock worth $6,892,280 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AJG. TD Cowen raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. 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 report on Friday, September 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $291.64.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $315.00 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $69.11 billion, a PE ratio of 60.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $218.63 and a 12-month high of $315.73. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $289.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $278.29.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting 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 the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.00 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.71%.

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.