Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Acquired by Wedmont Private Capital

Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 7.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,313 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $951,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,841,000. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 70.4% in the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 12,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,213,000 after purchasing an additional 5,308 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 11.7% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 194,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,649,000 after purchasing an additional 20,302 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $979,000. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,297,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AJG shares. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $254.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $287.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 3.1 %

AJG stock opened at $285.70 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $288.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $265.79. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $218.63 and a 12 month high of $301.04. The company has a market cap of $62.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 19.25%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.90 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.58%.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,625,146.84. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.68, for a total value of $1,992,760.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,625,146.84. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.96, for a total transaction of $4,244,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 329,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $93,121,853.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 44,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,622,660 in the last ninety days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.