ProShare Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

ProShare Advisors LLC trimmed its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 5.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 41,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,592 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $10,500,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 10,323,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,321,493,000 after buying an additional 672,404 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,308,316,000. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,433,710 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $997,053,000 after purchasing an additional 884,394 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,624,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $656,217,000 after acquiring an additional 14,366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,488,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $334,964,000 after acquiring an additional 64,365 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.41, for a total transaction of $3,974,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 80,952 shares in the company, valued at $20,109,286.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 8,303 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.74, for a total value of $2,181,530.22. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 36,388 shares in the company, valued at $9,560,583.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 16,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.41, for a total value of $3,974,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 80,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,109,286.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 53,165 shares of company stock worth $13,629,049 over the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 1.6 %

AJG opened at $271.85 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $258.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $246.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $59.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.03, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $212.39 and a 12 month high of $274.97.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.08. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 10.27%. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.03 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 48.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AJG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $255.00 target price (down previously from $280.00) on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $233.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “underperform” rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $274.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $263.00.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.