Somerset Trust Co Reduces Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Somerset Trust Co lessened its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 35 shares during the quarter. Somerset Trust Co’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $598,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AJG. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 89.7% during the second quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $21,654,772.41. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $21,654,772.41. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was 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 owns 329,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $93,121,853.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 44,145 shares of company stock worth $12,622,660. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG opened at $294.95 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.45 billion, a PE ratio of 59.71, 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. has a 1-year low of $218.63 and a 1-year high of $301.04. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $288.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $265.79.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted 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. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The company had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.14 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company 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. 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 0.81%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AJG shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $241.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $301.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $283.86.

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.