Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Sold by EP Wealth Advisors LLC

EP Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 10.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 226 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $555,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allred Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Allred Capital Management LLC now owns 3,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $960,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $959,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $940,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 1,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brendel Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,054,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AJG. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $307.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $315.33.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE AJG opened at $338.67 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The business’s 50 day moving average is $330.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $310.29. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $244.60 and a 12-month high of $350.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.94 and a beta of 0.78.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. The company had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.45 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 37.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total value of $2,505,260.90. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 90,020 shares in the company, valued at $30,029,771.80. This represents a 7.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total value of $104,669.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 44,783 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,422,812.98. This represents a 0.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co engages in the provision of insurance brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party claims settlement and administration services. It operates through the following segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.