Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Sold by Ascent Group LLC

Ascent Group LLC cut its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 41.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 6,545 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,630 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $1,842,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Cetera Advisors LLC raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 113.9% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 13,926 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,482,000 after purchasing an additional 7,415 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 24.0% in the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 22.3% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,617 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $654,000 after acquiring an additional 478 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.2% during the second quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 31,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,246,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 41.3% in the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,359 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 1.4 %

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $307.99 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $67.57 billion, a PE ratio of 58.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $291.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $279.74. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $218.63 and a 1-year high of $316.72.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.78 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 19.12%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.00 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.12 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, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AJG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $309.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $254.00 to $293.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $291.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total transaction of $2,103,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 33,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,853,685.40. This represents a 17.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total transaction of $803,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,211,438. The trade was a 16.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $6,892,280 over the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.