Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Stock Holdings Trimmed by Guinness Asset Management LTD

Guinness Asset Management LTD lowered its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 2.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 819,048 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 21,978 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. comprises approximately 5.4% of Guinness Asset Management LTD’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Guinness Asset Management LTD’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $282,603,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% during the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,001,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.8% during the first quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 3,812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,289,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.1% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. City Holding Co. grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 1,140 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 34.3% during the 1st quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 2.5%

NYSE:AJG opened at $300.48 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $77.04 billion, a PE ratio of 42.68 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $301.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $320.00. 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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.36 by ($0.03). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AJG has been the topic of several analyst reports. 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. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $317.00 target price for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $333.13.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.78, for a total transaction of $899,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 114,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,407,849.06. This represents a 2.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total transaction of $3,825,648.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,569,792. The trade was a 13.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.