Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Sold by First Hawaiian Bank

First Hawaiian Bank reduced its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 20,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 309 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $5,711,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Candriam S.C.A. boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.5% during the second quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 14,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,889,000 after buying an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 948.0% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 6,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,730,000 after purchasing an additional 6,039 shares in the last quarter. Certuity LLC purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth $229,000. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 25.1% in the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential PLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 42.2% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 3,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $946,000 after buying an additional 1,082 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on AJG. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $298.14.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AJG traded up $5.21 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $284.98. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,825,239 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,513,946. The firm has a market cap of $71.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.76. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $224.21 and a 1-year high of $316.72. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $291.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $285.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.26. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 10.40%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.70, for a total value of $1,992,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares in the company, valued at $21,626,666.10. This trade represents a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total value of $803,600.00. Following 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. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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.