Gunderson Capital Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Gunderson Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 64.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,179 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 23,790 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. accounts for about 1.8% of Gunderson Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Gunderson Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $3,741,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 219.6% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,043,769 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $270,660,000 after acquiring an additional 717,221 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 231.2% during the third 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 period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,305,478 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,462,392,000 after purchasing an additional 580,134 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,196,992 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $899,538,000 after buying an additional 383,130 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 431.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 323,880 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $91,130,000 after buying an additional 262,987 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AJG shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $295.00 to $377.00 in a report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $304.07.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 75,963 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,626,666.10. This trade represents a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total transaction of $803,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,211,438. This trade represents a 16.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded up $2.98 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $288.79. The company had a trading volume of 1,281,088 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,359,021. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The company's 50-day moving average is $291.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $286.12. The company has a market cap of $72.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.76. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $227.08 and a twelve month high of $316.72.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 10.40%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.00 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.71%.

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.