Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS Lowers Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS lowered its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 5.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 820 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. comprises about 1.3% of Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $4,319,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth about $3,242,000. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 429.4% during the first quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 73,005 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,204,000 after buying an additional 59,215 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.7% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 764,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $263,695,000 after buying an additional 54,714 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth about $39,012,000. Finally, Jacobi Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth about $243,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

AJG stock opened at $297.27 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $300.81 and a 200-day moving average of $319.76. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $274.25 and a 12-month high of $351.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market cap of $76.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.23 and a beta of 0.72.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by ($0.03). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.29 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total transaction of $3,825,648.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,569,792. This trade represents a 13.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.78, for a total transaction of $899,340.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 114,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,407,849.06. This trade represents a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AJG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $344.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $317.00 price objective for the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $371.00 to $373.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $333.13.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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 segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.