Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Sells 52,088 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 3.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,425,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 52,088 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $492,301,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AJG. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 205.4% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 45,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,502,278.92. This represents a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.17, for a total transaction of $3,540,285.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 91,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,741,474.75. The trade was a 10.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,528,080. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG opened at $316.50 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $328.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $319.97. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $263.22 and a fifty-two week high of $351.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.06 billion, a PE ratio of 45.80 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly 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. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.39% and a return on equity of 14.83%. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.45 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 presently 37.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on AJG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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 report on Thursday, June 5th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price 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. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed 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 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $319.29.

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.