USS Investment Management Ltd Sells 1,954 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

USS Investment Management Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,954 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $9,919,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allred Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Allred Capital Management LLC now owns 3,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $960,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $959,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $940,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 1,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tucker Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC now owns 1,419 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $403,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total transaction of $2,505,260.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 90,020 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,029,771.80. This trade represents a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total transaction of $342,040.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 45,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,502,278.92. This represents a 2.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 22,010 shares of company stock valued at $7,493,056 in the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AJG shares. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $307.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $318.57.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE AJG opened at $337.75 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $244.60 and a twelve month high of $350.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $331.75 and a 200 day moving average of $312.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.80 and a beta of 0.78.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 16.47%. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.45 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 37.63%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co engages in the provision of insurance brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party claims settlement and administration services. It operates through the following segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.