Brookstone Capital Management Reduces Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Brookstone Capital Management lowered its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 94.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 63,757 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $829,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% during the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the third quarter worth about $39,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Prosperity Bancshares Inc acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AJG shares. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $226.00 to $211.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $262.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total transaction of $618,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 47,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,850,714. The trade was a 5.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 3.9%

AJG stock opened at $226.34 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $190.75 and a one year high of $323.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company has a fifty day moving average of $210.49 and a 200-day moving average of $225.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.15 billion, a PE ratio of 36.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.52.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.04. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.23 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.31%.

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.