Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Sold by Stephens Inc. AR

Stephens Inc. AR lessened its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 45.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,540 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $789,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AJG. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 870.0% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% during the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 100.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 668.2% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total value of $864,766.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,552,814.40. The trade was a 4.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $908,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 19,306 shares in the company, valued at $4,384,778.72. The trade was a 17.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of AJG opened at $203.36 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $52.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.91, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $190.75 and a one year high of $351.23. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $211.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $232.98.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 10.76%.Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.67 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 45.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AJG shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $266.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $283.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $275.00 to $278.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $268.00.

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.