Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC Lowers Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC lessened its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 1.4% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 32 shares during the quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $800,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,672,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,422,435,000 after buying an additional 3,851,661 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its stake 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 raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,199,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,327,403,000 after acquiring an additional 1,910,471 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,277,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,779,248,000 after acquiring an additional 787,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at $1,421,591,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $345.61 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $88.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.01 and a beta of 0.78. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $250.72 and a 52 week high of $351.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $333.17 and a 200-day moving average of $316.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.85 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 16.47%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.45 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AJG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $318.57.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 90,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,029,771.80. This represents a 7.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total value of $342,040.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 45,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,502,278.92. This trade represents a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,510 shares of company stock worth $11,033,341. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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.