Braun Bostich & Associates Inc. Sells 44 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Braun Bostich & Associates Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 756 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 44 shares during the period. Braun Bostich & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $215,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AJG. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 67,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,893,000 after buying an additional 11,752 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 109,639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,450,000 after acquiring an additional 14,860 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 231.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 885,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $249,237,000 after purchasing an additional 618,362 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.2% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 183,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,732,000 after purchasing an additional 2,092 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 22,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,381,000 after purchasing an additional 3,217 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $296.59 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $292.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $287.25. The firm has a market cap of $74.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.49 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $227.08 and a one year high of $316.72.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 10.40%. The company’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.00 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.05 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AJG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $292.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.07.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.70, for a total transaction of $1,992,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,626,666.10. This trade represents a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total transaction of $803,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at $4,211,438. This represents a 16.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co engages in the provision of insurance brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party claims settlement and administration services. It operates through the following business segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.