Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC Sells 4,176 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 14.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,176 shares during the period. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $8,706,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 205.4% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Centennial Bank AR bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

AJG opened at $302.8250 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $274.25 and a 12-month high of $351.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.64 billion, a PE ratio of 43.01 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $306.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $322.31.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by ($0.03). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%.The business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.29 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on AJG shares. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $317.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $371.00 to $373.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $331.07.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.