Franklin Resources Inc. Decreases Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 390,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 35,738 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $101,009,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.4% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $949,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.7% during the third quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 1,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $501,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.9% during the third quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 1,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $480,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.1% during the third quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 10,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,604,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AJG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $235.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $266.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $275.00 to $278.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $280.00 to $250.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $264.59.

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

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $618,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 47,819 shares in the company, valued at $9,850,714. This represents a 5.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.5%

AJG opened at $220.25 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $190.75 and a 1-year high of $327.34. The company has a market capitalization of $56.58 billion, a PE ratio of 35.64, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $210.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $228.34.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.04. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The business had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.67 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 29.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.27 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.31%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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.