Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Sold by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC lessened its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 9.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,455 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,190 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $15,938,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 107.1% in the 2nd quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 14,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,642,000 after acquiring an additional 7,500 shares during the period. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 21.4% in the second quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 9,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,189,000 after purchasing an additional 1,758 shares in the last quarter. Petra Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter valued at $812,000. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.4% during the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 735,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $234,226,000 after purchasing an additional 2,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.2% in the second quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,381,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $762,473,000 after purchasing an additional 94,940 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 2.5%

AJG stock opened at $212.41 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $54.55 billion, a PE ratio of 34.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.66. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $210.01 and a 12 month high of $351.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $251.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $272.45.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.13% and a net margin of 11.84%.The company had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 33.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.11, for a total value of $1,032,440.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 17,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,472,271.97. This trade represents a 18.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.00, for a total transaction of $1,566,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 50,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,224,348. This represents a 10.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 32,100 shares of company stock worth $8,243,865. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on AJG shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Wolfe Research set a $289.00 price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $249.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $292.00 target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Evercore lowered their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $353.00 to $334.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $284.12.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.

The company’s core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.