Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Sold by Baillie Gifford & Co.

Baillie Gifford & Co. trimmed its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 908,885 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 31,643 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $281,518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% during the second quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC now owns 3,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,032,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.2% during the second quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $926,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $182,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 2,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $840,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $552,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AJG shares. Barclays cut their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $250.00 to $247.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $300.00 target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $279.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $290.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.05, for a total transaction of $1,290,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 95,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,715,254.85. The trade was a 4.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the general counsel owned 79,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,284,995. This represents a 16.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 32,100 shares of company stock valued at $8,243,865 over the last ninety days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $253.13 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $65.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.84 and a beta of 0.67. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $236.34 and a 12-month high of $351.23. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $253.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $278.93. 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. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $3.33 billion for 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.26 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were issued 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 (DPR) is 38.86%.

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.