HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 15,411 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 23.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 50,929 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 15,411 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $13,180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AJG. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 870.0% in the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% during 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 during the period. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 100.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 668.2% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $204.89 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $52.64 billion, a PE ratio of 33.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.54. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $190.75 and a 12-month high of $351.23. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $211.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $232.41.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.67 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AJG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $275.00 to $278.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $226.00 to $211.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $264.00.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 19,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,384,778.72. This trade represents a 17.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total value of $864,766.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 85,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,552,814.40. The trade was a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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.