Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Sold by Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC

Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 0.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 140,121 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 280 shares during the period. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $44,856,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,096,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,954,625,000 after purchasing an additional 685,278 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 38.3% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,372,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,997,767,000 after acquiring an additional 4,815,007 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,536,230,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,959,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,021,798,000 after acquiring an additional 137,354 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.5% during the second quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,464,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $783,097,000 after purchasing an additional 128,071 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 1,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.74, for a total transaction of $313,425.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 17,327 shares in the company, valued at $4,344,571.98. This represents a 6.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Michael Robert Pesch purchased 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $247.12 per share, with a total value of $988,480.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president owned 41,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,341,724.88. This trade represents a 10.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 37,105 shares of company stock valued at $10,796,353. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $246.32 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The stock has a market cap of $63.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.99 and a beta of 0.71. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $239.47 and a 1-year high of $351.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $274.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $298.21.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.19). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The business had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.26 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on AJG. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $365.00 to $366.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $275.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $291.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $353.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $316.33.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co engages in the provision of insurance brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party claims settlement and administration services. It operates through the following segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.