Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Sold by Talbot Financial LLC

Talbot Financial LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 83.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 34,500 shares during the quarter. Talbot Financial LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $1,572,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gtcr LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $514,112,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $289,484,000. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 303.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 638,601 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $146,604,000 after buying an additional 480,413 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,242,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $702,182,000 after buying an additional 409,145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 23.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,854,488 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $401,645,000 after buying an additional 346,409 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

NYSE AJG traded down $3.42 during trading on Monday, hitting $251.46. 377,275 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,876,362. The company has a market capitalization of $64.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $246.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $232.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $190.75 and a 12-month high of $284.33.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.28% and a net margin of 9.96%. The company’s revenue was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.33 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.17 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, General Counsel Walter Bay sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.08, for a total value of $3,240,960.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 71,292 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,254,543.36. The trade was a 14.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Richard Cary sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.86, for a total transaction of $252,860.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 46,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,838,652.34. The trade was a 2.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 28,500 shares of company stock worth $7,562,950. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on AJG. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Friday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target (down from $271.00) on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $292.00 to $271.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $280.74.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting company. The firm helps businesses, public entities and individuals identify, manage and transfer risk through insurance and related services.

Its operations include retail insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting, wholesale brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, claims administration and risk management consulting. Gallagher places commercial and personal insurance coverage and provides services related to property and casualty risks, health care, benefits, and other specialized insurance needs.

Founded in 1927 by Arthur J.