NewEdge Wealth LLC Sells 2,196 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

NewEdge Wealth LLC decreased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 55.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,196 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $386,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,925,062,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 123.5% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,887,538 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,523,636,000 after purchasing an additional 3,253,498 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9,244.9% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,053,636 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $272,670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,042,361 shares during the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at $269,394,000. Finally, Dodge & Cox bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at $227,887,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $268.92 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $229.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $224.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $190.75 and a 1 year high of $313.55. The firm has a market cap of $69.09 billion, a PE ratio of 43.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.50.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.04. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.67 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.22 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 45.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $618,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 47,819 shares in the company, valued at $9,850,714. This trade represents a 5.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AJG. Mizuho upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $261.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Wolfe Research downgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.35.

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.