GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC Sells 2,699 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lessened its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 77.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 765 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,699 shares during the quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $198,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 870.0% in the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% in the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in 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 valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 668.2% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $262.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $280.00 to $250.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $259.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $264.00.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were 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 owned 19,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,384,778.72. This trade represents a 17.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total transaction 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $204.89 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $52.64 billion, a PE ratio of 33.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $211.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $232.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $190.75 and a fifty-two week high of $351.23.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.67 EPS. Research analysts anticipate 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. 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 45.31%.

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.