Ibex Wealth Advisors Sells 2,456 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Ibex Wealth Advisors cut its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 72.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 931 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,456 shares during the quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $288,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 870.0% in the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% in the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 40.6% during the third quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter valued at $62,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.05, for a total transaction of $1,290,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 95,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,715,254.85. This trade represents a 4.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 15,850 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $4,041,750.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 79,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,284,995. The trade was a 16.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 24,850 shares of company stock worth $6,364,440 over the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $227.86 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $243.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $265.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $58.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.05, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.66. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $195.00 and a 12-month high of $351.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 12.13%. The firm had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 33.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AJG shares. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $289.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Wolfe Research set a $289.00 price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $279.00 to $249.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $281.76.

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.