Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Sold by Employees Retirement System of Texas

Employees Retirement System of Texas decreased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 177,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 37,500 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas owned 0.07% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $54,855,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. KLCM Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.9% during the third quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 1,032 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 426,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $131,964,000 after purchasing an additional 68,551 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.7% during the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 6,544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,027,000 after buying an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the third quarter worth about $23,200,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $908,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 19,306 shares in the company, valued at $4,384,778.72. This represents a 17.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 5,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.05, for a total value of $1,290,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 95,777 shares in the company, valued at $24,715,254.85. This represents a 4.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,650 shares of company stock valued at $8,137,686. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG stock opened at $204.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.67. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $195.00 and a one year high of $351.23. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $235.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $261.13.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.61 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 12.13%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 33.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AJG shares. Needham & Company LLC set a $272.00 price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Friday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $289.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $282.65.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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.