Dearborn Partners LLC Lowers Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Dearborn Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 4.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 145,549 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,333 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. comprises about 1.7% of Dearborn Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Dearborn Partners LLC owned about 0.07% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $40,953,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,222 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $806,000 after buying an additional 516 shares during the period. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at about $213,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 16.2% during the first quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 11,306 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,827,000 after purchasing an additional 1,575 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.2% in the first quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 3,211 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $803,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, M&G Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,578,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded down $0.72 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $293.99. The company had a trading volume of 465,994 shares, compared to its average volume of 843,846. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $218.63 and a 1-year high of $301.04. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $288.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $274.26. The stock has a market cap of $64.50 billion, a PE ratio of 56.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is 45.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total value of $803,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at $4,211,438. This trade represents a 16.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.68, for a total transaction of $1,992,760.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,625,146.84. The trade was a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $6,892,280. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on AJG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $241.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $289.14.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.