Provident Wealth Management LLC Has $2.70 Million Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Provident Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 10.3% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 731 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. makes up about 0.9% of Provident Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Provident Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $2,699,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth $382,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 337.7% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,243 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $921,000 after buying an additional 2,502 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $269,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Seven Grand Managers LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at $7,096,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 23.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 68,124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,337,000 after buying an additional 12,730 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total transaction of $4,645,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,941 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,109,256.33. The trade was a 53.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total transaction of $342,040.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 45,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,502,278.92. This represents a 2.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $8,528,080 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE AJG opened at $317.20 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $251.42 and a 52-week high of $351.23. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $331.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $317.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44. The company has a market capitalization of $81.24 billion, a PE ratio of 45.90 and a beta of 0.74.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.85 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.39% and a return on equity of 14.83%. The company’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.45 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 37.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AJG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $372.00 to $371.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $326.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $319.29.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.