Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Sold by Appleton Partners Inc. MA

Appleton Partners Inc. MA reduced its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 48,524 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,548 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. comprises approximately 1.0% of Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest position. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $13,653,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 89.7% during the 2nd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 6,335 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.06, for a total transaction of $1,799,520.10. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 30,053 shares in the company, valued at $8,536,855.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 6,335 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.06, for a total value of $1,799,520.10. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 30,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,536,855.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,710 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.07, for a total value of $2,482,959.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,654,772.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 44,145 shares of company stock worth $12,622,660. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $285.91 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $287.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $264.46. 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. has a 1-year low of $218.63 and a 1-year high of $301.04. The firm has a market cap of $62.47 billion, a PE ratio of 57.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.72.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

AJG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $267.00 in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $254.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $282.93.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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.