Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,848,879 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,681 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.86% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $409,465,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Greenleaf Trust boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.4% during the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $676,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 343 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Forte Capital LLC ADV lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 2,395 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $539,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.9% in the third quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 1,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.7% in the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded up $0.67 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $245.69. The company had a trading volume of 123,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 852,695. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $198.52 and a 12-month high of $256.10. The company’s fifty day moving average is $243.71 and its 200-day moving average is $239.27. The company has a market capitalization of $53.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.69.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.03 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.08 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AJG. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $279.00 to $233.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $240.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $253.00 to $252.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $255.31.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 12,309 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.65, for a total transaction of $2,925,233.85. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 322,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,712,707.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.06, for a total value of $3,825,900.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 96,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,666,597.54. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 12,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.65, for a total value of $2,925,233.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 322,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,712,707.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 28,516 shares of company stock worth $7,059,160 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.