Spire Wealth Management Sells 81 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Spire Wealth Management lessened its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 4.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,866 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 81 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $484,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,308,316,000. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,433,710 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $997,053,000 after acquiring an additional 884,394 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 180.6% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,228,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $307,076,000 after acquiring an additional 790,467 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,050,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,763,177,000 after acquiring an additional 727,325 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the president now directly owns 329,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $93,121,853.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 8,303 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $9,560,583.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the president now directly owns 329,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $93,121,853.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 48,348 shares of company stock worth $13,342,910. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $292.57 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $276.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $257.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $63.93 billion, a PE ratio of 59.22, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $218.63 and a 1-year high of $294.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.73 billion for 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%. The business’s revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 48.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AJG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $290.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Bank Of America (Bofa) upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $233.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $282.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $275.38.

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.