Cumberland Partners Ltd Cuts Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Cumberland Partners Ltd lessened its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 77.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 63,571 shares during the quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $4,923,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1,881.1% in the 4th quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. now owns 34,155 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,839,000 after purchasing an additional 32,431 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 3,837 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $993,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,407,000. Ignite Planners LLC increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 4,626 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,197,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total value of $864,766.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,552,814.40. This trade represents a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $4,384,778.72. This represents a 17.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $204.89 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $211.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $232.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $190.75 and a 12-month high of $351.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.54.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.67 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 29.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current 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 $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AJG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price 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. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. Barclays raised 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 note on Wednesday, April 8th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $275.00 to $278.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.00.

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.