QRG Capital Management Inc. Sells 166 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

QRG Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,077 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 166 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $2,860,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 580.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

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

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total transaction of $877,569.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,440,499.14. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total value of $3,229,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 69,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,536,304.26. This represents a 12.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,725 shares of company stock valued at $4,972,964 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE AJG opened at $337.61 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $302.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $295.15. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $230.08 and a 12-month high of $338.43. The firm has a market cap of $85.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.78 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 39.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on AJG shares. Barclays boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $286.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $344.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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 business segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.