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

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 66.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,083 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $1,065,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.4% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $949,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.7% during the third quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 1,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $501,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.9% during the third quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 1,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $480,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.1% during the third quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,127 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 10,061 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,604,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 0.1%

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $202.61 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $52.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.54. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $190.75 and a fifty-two week high of $351.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $211.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $231.15.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 10.76%.Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.67 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 45.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AJG shares. UBS Group set a $240.00 price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Friday, January 30th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $226.00 to $211.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $235.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 1st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $264.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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.