Gradient Investments LLC Sells 1,771 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Gradient Investments LLC lessened its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 62,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,771 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $16,148,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Security National Bank acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on AJG. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $267.00 in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Argus upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Bank Of America (Bofa) increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $252.00 to $254.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $275.38.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded up $0.68 on Friday, reaching $285.08. 774,860 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 844,038. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $62.29 billion, a PE ratio of 57.71, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $215.37 and a twelve month high of $290.31. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $270.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $253.51.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.90 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.15 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, President Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.96, for a total value of $4,244,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 329,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $93,121,853.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.45, for a total transaction of $2,634,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 93,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,693,168.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 15,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.96, for a total value of $4,244,400.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 329,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $93,121,853.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 49,998 shares of company stock valued at $13,767,866. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.