Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Stock Holdings Lessened by Cadence Bank

Cadence Bank cut its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 6.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 91 shares during the period. Cadence Bank’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $352,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter worth $26,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 89.7% in the 2nd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 580.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE AJG opened at $315.00 on Thursday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $218.63 and a 1-year high of $315.73. The company has a market capitalization of $69.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.00, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $289.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $278.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.26. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 10.40%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.00 EPS. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.12 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, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 45.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AJG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $291.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.68, for a total transaction of $1,992,760.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,625,146.84. This represents a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total value of $2,103,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 33,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,853,685.40. This represents a 17.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,900 shares of company stock worth $6,892,280 in the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.