Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Lowers Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd reduced its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 84.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,093 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,797 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $648,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AJG. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.1% in the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 15.8% in the 2nd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.9% in the 2nd quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,783 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $571,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 192.7% during the second quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 3,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,175,000 after buying an additional 2,417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 39.8% during the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 40,567 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,986,000 after buying an additional 11,553 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 3.2%

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $225.05 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $195.00 and a 1-year high of $351.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $57.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $243.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $266.39.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 12.13%. The business had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 33.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS 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 paid a $0.70 dividend. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wolfe Research set a $289.00 price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Needham & Company LLC set a $272.00 price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Evercore dropped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $353.00 to $334.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $283.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Six 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $282.76.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.05, for a total transaction of $1,290,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 95,777 shares in the company, valued at $24,715,254.85. This represents a 4.96% 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 Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.11, for a total transaction of $1,032,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 17,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,472,271.97. This trade represents a 18.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,850 shares of company stock valued at $6,364,440. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.