Metis Global Partners LLC Buys 1,426 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 17.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 9,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,426 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $2,642,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Curi RMB Capital LLC increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 3,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $985,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 36.6% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 198,368 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,815,000 after buying an additional 53,106 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 10.6% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $422,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.4% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 46,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,994,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 2,260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $636,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.68, for a total transaction of $1,992,760.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,625,146.84. The trade was a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total transaction of $803,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,211,438. The trade was a 16.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $6,892,280 in the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG opened at $294.63 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $218.63 and a one year high of $301.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $288.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $274.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $64.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.72.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.26. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 10.40%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.00 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.11 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 45.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on AJG. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $300.00 price target for the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $254.00 to $293.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $309.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $289.14.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.