Eventide Asset Management LLC Sells 76,819 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Eventide Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 35.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 139,874 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 76,819 shares during the quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $36,244,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% in the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 668.2% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 84.8% in the fourth quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $51,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AJG shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $235.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $266.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $262.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $263.71.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $218.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $210.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $228.06. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $190.75 and a fifty-two week high of $327.34. The firm has a market cap of $56.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.52.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.67 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. 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 is currently 45.31%.

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

In related news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $618,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 47,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,850,714. This represents a 5.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.