Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Sold by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lowered its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 86,933 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,442 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $22,497,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AJG. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,825,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,429,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.3% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 118,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,924,000 after purchasing an additional 5,947 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,919.2% in the second quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 19,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,398,000 after purchasing an additional 19,325 shares during the period. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at approximately $412,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total transaction of $864,766.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,552,814.40. This trade represents a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $908,480.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 19,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,384,778.72. The trade was a 17.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $204.89 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.15, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.54. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $190.75 and a 1-year high of $351.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $211.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $232.49.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.67 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $262.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $259.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $235.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 1st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $264.00.

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.