Crestmont Private Wealth LLC Buys New Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Crestmont Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 781 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $220,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AJG. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 89.7% in the 2nd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 6,335 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.06, for a total transaction of $1,799,520.10. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 30,053 shares in the company, valued at $8,536,855.18. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 6,335 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.06, for a total value of $1,799,520.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 30,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,536,855.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.96, for a total transaction of $4,244,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 329,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $93,121,853.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 44,145 shares of company stock worth $12,622,660. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AJG shares. Bank Of America (Bofa) boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Bank of America upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $287.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $287.91 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $218.63 and a 12-month high of $301.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $288.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $266.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The company’s revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 48.58%.

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.