Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS Lowers Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS cut its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 22.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,008 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. makes up about 1.0% of Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Legacy Wealth Management LLC MS’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $3,247,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 209.1% in the 2nd quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% during the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Steph & Co. purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter worth $40,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 40.6% in the 3rd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter valued at $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.05, for a total transaction of $1,290,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 95,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,715,254.85. The trade was a 4.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.00, for a total transaction of $1,566,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 50,668 shares in the company, valued at $13,224,348. This represents a 10.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 32,100 shares of company stock valued at $8,243,865 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AJG shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC set a $272.00 price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $250.00 to $247.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $301.94.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 2.2%

NYSE:AJG opened at $264.70 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $236.34 and a 1 year high of $351.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $252.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $283.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The company has a market cap of $67.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.57 and a beta of 0.67.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.34 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 13.58% and a return on equity of 11.98%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.26 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.86%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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.