Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Has $38.01 Million Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 0.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 110,086 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 453 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $38,006,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,672,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,422,435,000 after acquiring an additional 3,851,661 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 10,067,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,857,737,000 after purchasing an additional 305,876 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,199,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,327,403,000 after buying an additional 1,910,471 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,277,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,779,248,000 after buying an additional 787,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth $1,421,591,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AJG has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Barclays upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $372.00 to $371.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 target price for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $319.29.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $312.96 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $80.15 billion, a PE ratio of 48.00 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $331.21 and its 200-day moving average is $317.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.51. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $251.42 and a 52 week high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 16.47%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.45 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.63%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total transaction of $342,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 45,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,502,278.92. The trade was a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total transaction of $2,505,260.90. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 90,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,029,771.80. The trade was a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 32,510 shares of company stock worth $11,033,341. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co engages in the provision of insurance brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party claims settlement and administration services. It operates through the following segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.