William Blair Investment Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

William Blair Investment Management LLC reduced its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 59.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 19,874 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $4,185,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 870.0% in the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 40.6% during the third quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 3rd quarter worth about $62,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of AJG opened at $225.51 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $57.98 billion, a PE ratio of 36.67, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.67. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $241.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $264.66. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $195.00 and a 1 year high of $351.23. 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. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 12.13%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AJG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $292.00 target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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. Morgan Stanley set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $283.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $281.76.

Insider Activity

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 15,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $4,041,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 79,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,284,995. The trade was a 16.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.11, for a total transaction of $1,032,440.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 17,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,472,271.97. The trade was a 18.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,850 shares of company stock valued at $6,364,440. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.