Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Stock Position Lessened by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 89.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 134,912 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,198,267 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.05% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $34,914,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. CX Institutional boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.1% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $552,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $908,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,226,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 40.6% in the 3rd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $387,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.5%

AJG opened at $223.28 on Thursday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $195.00 and a fifty-two week high of $351.23. The business has a 50-day moving average of $217.10 and a 200-day moving average of $246.77. 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 market capitalization of $57.40 billion, a PE ratio of 36.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.68.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.13% and a net margin of 11.84%.The company had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.12 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 33.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AJG shares. Needham & Company LLC set a $272.00 price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Evercore decreased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $353.00 to $334.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $300.00 price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $289.00 price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $273.94.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $908,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 19,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,384,778.72. This trade represents a 17.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total value of $864,766.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,552,814.40. This represents a 4.24% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.