Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Sold by Metis Global Partners LLC

Metis Global Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 2.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 12,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 349 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $3,981,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 209.1% during the second quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Motco grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 700.0% during the first quarter. Motco now owns 112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, SouthState Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

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

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,569,792. The trade was a 13.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total value of $2,396,320.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 100,777 shares in the company, valued at $30,186,742.58. This trade represents a 7.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 29,855 shares of company stock valued at $8,916,928 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AJG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $353.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $340.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.73.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE AJG opened at $249.75 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.04 billion, a PE ratio of 35.48 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $289.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $307.23. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $239.47 and a one year high of $351.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.34 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.26 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.86%.

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.