Welch & Forbes LLC Decreases Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Welch & Forbes LLC decreased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 0.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 297,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,255 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. makes up 1.3% of Welch & Forbes LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $102,842,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% in the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Centennial Bank AR bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

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

In other news, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 11,941 shares in the company, valued at $4,109,256.33. This trade represents a 53.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president owned 91,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,741,474.75. This represents a 10.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,528,080. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $372.00 to $371.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Barclays reduced their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered 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 report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $318.21.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE AJG opened at $308.07 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.58 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $326.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $321.04. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $267.00 and a 1 year high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 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 analyst estimates of $3.85 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.39% and a return on equity of 14.83%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.45 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.63%.

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.