Baillie Gifford & Co. Cuts Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Baillie Gifford & Co. decreased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 4.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,380,947 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 108,319 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned approximately 1.09% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $669,927,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. W Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.4% during the third quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 1,514 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 4,583 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,289,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Covenant Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Covenant Partners LLC now owns 5,326 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,499,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC now owns 5,849 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,635,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,825 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $992,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AJG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $241.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a report on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $289.14.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG traded up $1.31 on Tuesday, hitting $294.03. 248,518 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 843,614. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $288.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $273.51. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $218.63 and a 1-year high of $301.04.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.26. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.78 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 19.12%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.00 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.11 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.71%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total value of $2,103,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 33,267 shares in the company, valued at $9,853,685.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total transaction of $2,103,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 33,267 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,853,685.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.68, for a total transaction of $1,992,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,963 shares in the company, valued at $21,625,146.84. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $6,892,280. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.