WCM Investment Management LLC Has $743.49 Million Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

WCM Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,431,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 32,664 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. makes up about 1.5% of WCM Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. WCM Investment Management LLC owned 0.95% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $743,486,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. J.Safra Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 209.1% during the 2nd quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% during the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 40.6% during the third quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Solstein Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $245.46 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market cap of $63.03 billion, a PE ratio of 39.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50 day moving average of $253.11 and a 200-day moving average of $275.67. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $236.34 and a 1-year high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 12.13%. The business had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 33.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AJG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research set a $289.00 price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $292.00 price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $311.00 to $298.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $300.00 target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $284.12.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.00, for a total transaction of $1,566,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 50,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,224,348. The trade was a 10.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.11, for a total transaction of $1,032,440.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 17,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,472,271.97. This trade represents a 18.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 32,100 shares of company stock worth $8,243,865 over the last three months. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.

The company’s core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.