Metis Global Partners LLC Sells 2,464 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Metis Global Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,972 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,464 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $3,089,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 870.0% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 40.6% during the 3rd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter valued at about $45,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AJG has been the topic of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $279.00 to $249.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $300.00 price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Evercore dropped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $353.00 to $334.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $311.00 to $298.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $284.12.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.7%

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $208.22 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $249.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $270.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $195.00 and a 1-year high of $351.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.66.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.13% and a net margin of 11.84%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 42.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 15,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total value of $4,041,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 79,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,284,995. This trade represents a 16.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 50,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,224,348. This trade represents a 10.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,100 shares of company stock valued at $8,243,865. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.