Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Stock Position Cut by Picton Mahoney Asset Management

Picton Mahoney Asset Management decreased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,481 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,247 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $15,016,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.5% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $182,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 2,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $840,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $552,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $908,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,226,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $225.51 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $241.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $264.66. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $195.00 and a 52 week high of $351.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company has a market cap of $57.98 billion, a PE ratio of 36.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.67.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.05, for a total value of $1,290,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 95,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,715,254.85. This represents a 4.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 15,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The stock was 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. This represents a 16.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 24,850 shares of company stock valued at $6,364,440 in the last 90 days. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $277.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Friday, December 19th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $283.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Wolfe Research set a $289.00 price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $311.00 to $298.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $281.76.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

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.