Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Reduces Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA reduced its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 28.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 110,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 43,775 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $23,960,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Dearborn Partners LLC grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 133,936 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,661,000 after purchasing an additional 7,946 shares in the last quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 65,889 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,398,000 after buying an additional 6,090 shares during the last quarter. Professional Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Professional Advisory Services Inc. now owns 78,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,302,000 after acquiring an additional 8,539 shares in the last quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,571,000. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 127.3% during the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 44,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,869,000 after purchasing an additional 25,080 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

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

In related news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $618,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 47,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,850,714. This trade represents a 5.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on AJG. Citigroup upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $280.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $262.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $235.00 to $242.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $266.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $264.12.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 4.2%

Shares of AJG stock opened at $239.16 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $211.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $225.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.50. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $190.75 and a fifty-two week high of $320.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 29.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.67 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.31%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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.