Prospector Partners LLC Sells 32,699 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Prospector Partners LLC lessened its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 42.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 44,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 32,699 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. accounts for approximately 1.7% of Prospector Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Prospector Partners LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $13,927,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter worth $1,536,230,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,338,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,299,674,000 after acquiring an additional 3,330,205 shares during the last quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 453.3% in the second quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 1,121,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $358,934,000 after acquiring an additional 918,618 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 41,475.5% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 770,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $246,619,000 after purchasing an additional 768,541 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,096,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,954,625,000 after buying an additional 685,278 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $214.58 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $195.00 and a 12 month high of $351.23. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $247.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $269.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.10 billion, a PE ratio of 34.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.66.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 12.13%. The company had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.28%.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 15,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total value of $4,041,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 79,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,284,995. This represents a 16.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.11, for a total value of $1,032,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 17,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,472,271.97. This trade represents a 18.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 26,100 shares of company stock worth $6,677,865 in the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on AJG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $279.00 to $249.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $311.00 to $298.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $277.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $284.12.

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.