Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Decreases Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP reduced its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 259,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,218 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $67,154,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% in the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 100.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 668.2% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 84.8% during the fourth quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $618,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 47,819 shares in the company, valued at $9,850,714. This represents a 5.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 2.6%

AJG opened at $216.58 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $55.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $210.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $229.29. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $190.75 and a one year high of $330.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.04. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 10.76%.The company had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.67 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.27 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AJG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $235.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $259.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $262.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Citigroup raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $280.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $264.00.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.

The company’s core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.