Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Sells 38,575 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 34.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 74,346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 38,575 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $19,240,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AJG. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at about $1,601,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 27.8% during the second quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 5,299 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,696,000 after acquiring an additional 1,152 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 31,912.1% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 140,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,885,000 after purchasing an additional 139,775 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter worth about $6,217,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.9% during the 2nd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,002,000 after purchasing an additional 764 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on AJG. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $275.00 to $278.00 in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Needham & Company LLC set a $272.00 price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $273.82.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total value of $864,766.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,552,814.40. This represents a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $908,480.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 19,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,384,778.72. This represents a 17.16% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $213.94 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.67. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $227.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $255.28. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $195.00 and a 52-week high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.13% and a net margin of 11.84%.The firm’s revenue was up 33.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 45.53%.

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.