Argent Trust Co Reduces Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Argent Trust Co lowered its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 5.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 265 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $1,581,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AJG. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 59.8% during the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,854 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $640,000 after acquiring an additional 694 shares during the period. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth about $285,000. Banco Santander S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.3% during the first quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 1,612 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $557,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.0% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 68,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,619,000 after buying an additional 5,094 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mengis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $228,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on AJG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut 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 report on Friday, April 11th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $329.75.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of AJG opened at $284.06 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm has a market cap of $72.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.35 and a beta of 0.68. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $318.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $323.05. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $274.25 and a 12 month high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.29 EPS. 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.93%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total transaction of $4,645,755.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 11,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,109,256.33. The trade was a 53.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $342,040.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 45,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,502,278.92. The trade was a 2.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,528,080. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.