Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Sold by Boston Financial Mangement LLC

Boston Financial Mangement LLC lowered its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 0.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 96,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 129 shares during the period. Boston Financial Mangement LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $25,153,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% during 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 buying an additional 727,325 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth about $1,308,316,000. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9.0% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,832,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,208,208,000 after buying an additional 398,350 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% during the first quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,624,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $656,217,000 after buying an additional 14,366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.5% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,611,299 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $402,206,000 after buying an additional 38,886 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded up $1.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $292.72. 1,405,032 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 829,873. The company has a market capitalization of $63.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.26, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $218.63 and a 12-month high of $294.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $276.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $257.33.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The company’s revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.90 EPS. Analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 48.58%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, President Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.96, for a total value of $4,244,400.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 329,099 shares in the company, valued at $93,121,853.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, President Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.96, for a total value of $4,244,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 329,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $93,121,853.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 8,303 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.74, for a total transaction of $2,181,530.22. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 36,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,560,583.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 48,348 shares of company stock worth $13,342,910. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AJG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a report on Friday, July 26th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $233.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $267.00 in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $275.38.

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.