Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Sold by Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. decreased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 95.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,958 shares during the period. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $202,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 96,710 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,955,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 23.1% during the third quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 21,813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,756,000 after buying an additional 4,096 shares during the last quarter. Wendell David Associates Inc. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wendell David Associates Inc. now owns 18,174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,629,000 after acquiring an additional 2,242 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $195,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 3rd quarter worth about $16,382,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.11, for a total transaction of $1,032,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 17,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,472,271.97. This represents a 18.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 15,850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total value of $4,041,750.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 79,549 shares in the company, valued at $20,284,995. This trade represents a 16.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 32,100 shares of company stock worth $8,243,865 in the last ninety days. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AJG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $329.00 to $285.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $328.00 to $311.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $344.00 to $282.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $330.00 to $277.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $290.50.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $253.13 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $253.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $278.43. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $236.34 and a 1-year high of $351.23. The firm has a market cap of $65.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.84 and a beta of 0.67.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.19). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 13.58% and a return on equity of 11.98%. The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.26 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.

The company’s core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.