Mather Group LLC. Trims Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Mather Group LLC. lessened its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 15.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 389 shares during the quarter. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $535,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AJG. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at $1,308,316,000. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1,210.9% during the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,383,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $311,117,000 after buying an additional 1,277,945 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,433,710 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $997,053,000 after acquiring an additional 884,394 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 10,323,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,321,493,000 after acquiring an additional 672,404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chilton Investment Co. Inc. raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 476.2% during the 4th quarter. Chilton Investment Co. Inc. now owns 484,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $108,965,000 after acquiring an additional 400,453 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of AJG opened at $264.66 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.83 billion, a PE ratio of 53.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s fifty day moving average is $247.82 and its 200 day moving average is $241.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $209.39 and a fifty-two week high of $264.70.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 18.94%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.03 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.58%.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.41, for a total transaction of $3,974,560.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 80,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,109,286.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 8,303 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.74, for a total transaction of $2,181,530.22. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 36,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,560,583.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 16,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.41, for a total value of $3,974,560.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,109,286.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 53,165 shares of company stock worth $13,629,049. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on AJG shares. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $233.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $240.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $255.00 target price (down previously from $280.00) on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $260.58.

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.