First Nebraska Trust Co Makes New $3.87 Million Investment in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

First Nebraska Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 16,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,870,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Garde Capital Inc. raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 42.1% during the third quarter. Garde Capital Inc. now owns 3,039 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $693,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the period. Next Level Wealth Planning LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the third quarter worth about $102,000. Signature Equity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 78.6% in the third quarter. Signature Equity Partners LLC now owns 175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Welch Group LLC boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% in the third quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 264,798 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,403,000 after acquiring an additional 2,557 shares during the period. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.3% during the third quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 504,047 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $114,945,000 after purchasing an additional 1,702 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.13, for a total value of $3,169,560.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 90,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,840,902.06. The trade was a 11.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.02, for a total transaction of $899,570.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 22,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,711,755.46. This trade represents a 13.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 28,500 shares of company stock worth $7,562,950. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on AJG shares. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Oppenheimer started coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Argus increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $267.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Evercore raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $295.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $292.05.

Key Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. News

Here are the key news stories impacting Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies raised its target to $319 and maintained a Buy rating. UBS also raised its target to $320 and kept a Buy rating; Wells Fargo raised its target to $312 and maintained an Overweight rating. These higher targets suggest the firms see further upside. Jefferies rating Wells Fargo rating
• Positive Sentiment: A report on AJG’s third-quarter earnings call highlighted strong growth, reinforcing the company’s growth narrative. Earnings call highlights
• Neutral Sentiment: Gallagher named Tom Doyle CEO of its Benefits & HR unit in a leadership transition. The announcement provides continuity, but no financial impact was specified. Leadership announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Citi cut AJG to Neutral, citing a more balanced risk-reward outlook, and BMO downgraded it to Market Perform. While both firms’ targets remain above the cited share price, the rating cuts may dampen investor enthusiasm. Citi downgrade BMO downgrade

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

AJG opened at $272.96 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $248.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $232.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of $69.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.47. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $190.75 and a 1-year high of $281.53.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The financial services provider reported $3.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.01. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.90% and a net margin of 10.39%. The company had revenue of $3.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.32 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 7th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.81%.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.