Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Sold by Somerset Trust Co

Somerset Trust Co reduced its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 2.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 49 shares during the period. Somerset Trust Co’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $705,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,672,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,422,435,000 after buying an additional 3,851,661 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 10,067,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,857,737,000 after buying an additional 305,876 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,199,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,327,403,000 after buying an additional 1,910,471 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,277,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,779,248,000 after buying an additional 787,265 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,421,591,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AJG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $307.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $318.57.

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

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.17, for a total value of $3,540,285.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 91,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,741,474.75. This represents a 10.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total value of $342,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 45,323 shares in the company, valued at $15,502,278.92. This represents a 2.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 32,510 shares of company stock valued at $11,033,341. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $347.64 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $250.51 and a 12 month high of $350.70. The stock has a market cap of $89.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.32 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $332.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $315.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.63%.

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.