Freedom Investment Management Inc. Sells 75 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Freedom Investment Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 5.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,358 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 75 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $435,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.6% in the second quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 2,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $756,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 22.8% during the second quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 38,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,297,000 after buying an additional 7,142 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.2% during the second quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $926,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.2% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 3,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,259,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VCI Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.1% during the second quarter. VCI Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,136,000 after buying an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG stock opened at $281.01 on Monday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $275.56 and a 52-week 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.92 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $298.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $312.45.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by ($0.03). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%.The business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.29 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $288.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $365.00 to $366.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $344.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $331.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total transaction of $2,396,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 100,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,186,742.58. This trade represents a 7.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total value of $3,825,648.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,569,792. This represents a 13.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,855 shares of company stock valued at $8,916,928 over the last three months. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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.