Whitford Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Whitford Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 28.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 7,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,097 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. accounts for about 1.2% of Whitford Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Whitford Management LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $2,166,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AJG. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $29,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 1.2 %

AJG opened at $303.58 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.74. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $218.63 and a one year high of $316.72. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $293.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $280.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.26. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.78 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 10.40%. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.00 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.71%.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total transaction of $2,103,020.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 33,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,853,685.40. This trade represents a 17.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.70, for a total value of $1,992,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,626,666.10. This represents a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $6,892,280 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted 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 research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $254.00 to $293.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $291.64.

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.