Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 5,820 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Pacer Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 22.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 20,628 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,820 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $6,389,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 107.1% during the 2nd quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 14,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,642,000 after purchasing an additional 7,500 shares in the last quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 21.4% during the 2nd quarter. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD now owns 9,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,189,000 after acquiring an additional 1,758 shares in the last quarter. Petra Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $812,000. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 735,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $234,226,000 after acquiring an additional 2,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,381,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $762,473,000 after purchasing an additional 94,940 shares during the period. 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 $261.74 on Monday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $236.34 and a 1 year high of $351.23. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $255.11 and its 200 day moving average is $286.81. The stock has a market cap of $67.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.12 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.34 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 11.98% and a net margin of 13.58%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.26 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 38.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 1,250 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 17,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,344,571.98. This trade represents a 6.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.00, for a total value of $1,566,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 50,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,224,348. This trade represents a 10.59% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,100 shares of company stock valued at $5,921,175. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AJG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $330.00 to $277.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $329.00 to $285.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $302.22.

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.