Forum Financial Management LP Lowers Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Forum Financial Management LP reduced its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 7.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 172 shares during the quarter. Forum Financial Management LP’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $751,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Allen Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.1% in the first quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 1,603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Allred Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Allred Capital Management LLC now owns 3,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $960,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. City Holding Co. lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.1% in the first quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 1,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 34.3% in the first quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $372.00 to $371.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 9th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $318.21.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the director owned 45,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,502,278.92. This represents a 2.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 directly owned 91,175 shares in the company, valued at $30,741,474.75. This represents a 10.33% 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 three months. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.4%

NYSE:AJG opened at $314.28 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $80.49 billion, a PE ratio of 45.48 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $325.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $321.17. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $267.00 and a 1-year high of $351.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.45 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 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.