Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 2.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 113,026 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,343 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $31,802,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 180.6% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,228,266 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $307,076,000 after buying an additional 790,467 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,050,941 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,763,177,000 after acquiring an additional 727,325 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 219.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,043,769 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $270,660,000 after acquiring an additional 717,221 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 231.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 885,796 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $249,237,000 after purchasing an additional 618,362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,832,060 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,208,208,000 after purchasing an additional 398,350 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several research analysts have recently issued reports on AJG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Bank Of America (Bofa) increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $292.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $289.14.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.70, for a total transaction of $1,992,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,626,666.10. This trade represents a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was 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 directly owns 33,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,853,685.40. This represents a 17.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,900 shares of company stock worth $6,892,280 over the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance
AJG traded down $3.69 during trading on Thursday, hitting $294.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 634,345 shares, compared to its average volume of 845,555. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $218.63 and a one year high of $301.04. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $288.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $274.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $64.64 billion, a PE ratio of 56.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.72.
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.26. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 10.40%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.00 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side 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 declared 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 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.71%.
About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
(
Free Report)
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.
Featured Stories
Before you consider Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. wasn't on the list.
While Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a "Hold" rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Looking to avoid the hassle of mudslinging, volatility, and uncertainty? You'd need to be out of the market, which isn’t viable. So where should investors put their money? Find out with this report.
Get This Free Report
