Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Sold by Simmons Bank

Simmons Bank reduced its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 61 shares during the quarter. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $443,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,050,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,763,177,000 after buying an additional 727,325 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth $1,308,316,000. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9.0% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,832,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,208,208,000 after purchasing an additional 398,350 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% during the first quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,624,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $656,217,000 after purchasing an additional 14,366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.5% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,611,299 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $402,206,000 after purchasing an additional 38,886 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG stock traded up $0.81 on Wednesday, reaching $290.87. 608,676 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 829,148. The company has a market cap of $63.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $274.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $256.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.04. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $218.63 and a 1 year high of $294.00.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 48.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AJG shares. Bank Of America (Bofa) raised 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. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $275.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.96, for a total transaction of $4,244,400.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 329,099 shares in the company, valued at $93,121,853.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, President Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.96, for a total transaction of $4,244,400.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 329,099 shares in the company, valued at $93,121,853.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.45, for a total transaction of $2,634,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 93,730 shares in the company, valued at $24,693,168.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 48,348 shares of company stock worth $13,342,910. 1.60% of the stock is owned by 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.