First Business Financial Services Inc. Decreases Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

First Business Financial Services Inc. decreased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 19.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,037 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 257 shares during the period. First Business Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

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

In other news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 6,335 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.06, for a total value of $1,799,520.10. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 30,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,536,855.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $24,693,168.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 6,335 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.06, for a total value of $1,799,520.10. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 30,053 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,536,855.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 48,348 shares of company stock worth $13,342,910. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AJG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $233.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $252.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $276.82.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of AJG traded down $4.05 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $293.70. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 110,043 shares, compared to its average volume of 824,528. The company’s 50 day moving average is $278.43 and its 200 day moving average is $258.64. The stock has a market cap of $64.17 billion, a PE ratio of 60.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $218.63 and a 12-month high of $298.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.73 billion for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.58%.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.