Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Stake Cut by Envestnet Asset Management Inc.

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,397,218 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 28,748 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $447,277,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,750.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 37.8% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 49,546 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,337,000 after acquiring an additional 13,599 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,879,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Tsfg LLC boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 78.1% during the first quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 171 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.5% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 564,304 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $194,820,000 after purchasing an additional 2,974 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

NYSE AJG opened at $281.01 on Monday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $275.56 and a 1 year high of $351.23. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $298.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $312.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market cap of $72.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.92 and a beta of 0.73.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 100,777 shares in the company, valued at $30,186,742.58. The trade was a 7.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total transaction of $3,825,648.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,569,792. The trade was a 13.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,855 shares of company stock worth $8,916,928. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AJG shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $365.00 to $366.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $288.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $331.43.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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.