WCM Investment Management LLC Sells 17,781 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

WCM Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 0.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,362,513 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 17,781 shares during the quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $510,185,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 853,192 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $184,781,000 after acquiring an additional 47,588 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.7% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 4,110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $890,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at $12,041,000. Swiss National Bank raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.3% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 753,660 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $163,228,000 after purchasing an additional 51,040 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 46.7% in the 1st quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 789,499 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $170,990,000 after buying an additional 251,340 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $618,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 47,819 shares in the company, valued at $9,850,714. The trade was a 5.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AJG shares. UBS Group raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $250.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $242.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $261.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.35.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE AJG opened at $254.36 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $190.75 and a twelve month high of $316.71. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $221.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $225.41. The firm has a market cap of $65.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.50.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 10.76%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.67 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.31%.

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.