Prospera Financial Services Inc Has $4.27 Million Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 16.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,189 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,110 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $4,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OneAscent Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the third quarter worth $818,000. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter worth about $617,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,143,000. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 4,363 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,227,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9.1% in the third quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,356 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,507,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares in the company, valued at $21,625,146.84. The trade was a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,211,438. This trade represents a 16.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $6,892,280. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $292.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $241.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Barclays assumed coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $300.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $289.14.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $292.33 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.14 billion, a PE ratio of 55.68, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $218.63 and a 1 year high of $301.04. 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 firm's fifty day simple moving average is $288.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $275.98.

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 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.00 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.11 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

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

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.

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