Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Sells 3,845 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 8.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 44,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,845 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $10,165,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% in the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.08, for a total value of $3,240,960.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 71,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,254,543.36. This trade represents a 14.41% 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, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $618,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 47,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,850,714. This trade represents a 5.90% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 18,500 shares of company stock worth $4,758,530 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $267.43 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $190.75 and a 52 week high of $313.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $249.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $225.78. The firm has a market cap of $68.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.50.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 9.96% and a return on equity of 13.28%. The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.33 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AJG has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $235.00 to $265.00 in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $287.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Argus upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $267.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $299.00 to $296.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $290.28.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.