Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Grows Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 14.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 71,934 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,283 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $23,027,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth about $25,000. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Centennial Bank AR purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,750.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total transaction of $3,825,648.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 85,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,569,792. The trade was a 13.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total value of $2,396,320.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 100,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,186,742.58. This represents a 7.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,855 shares of company stock valued at $8,916,928 in the last three months. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG opened at $301.75 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.36. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $275.56 and a one year high of $351.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.86 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a fifty day moving average of $299.11 and a 200 day moving average of $315.45.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.36 by ($0.03). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%.The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 36.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Barclays reduced their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $331.43.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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.