Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Has $76.54 Million Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS cut its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 4.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 247,099 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,461 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. comprises approximately 1.5% of Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS owned about 0.10% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $76,536,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% during the second quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC now owns 3,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,032,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $926,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.5% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $182,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.4% during the second quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 2,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $840,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.1% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $552,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.11, for a total value of $1,032,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 17,327 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,472,271.97. The trade was a 18.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.05, for a total transaction of $1,290,250.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 95,777 shares in the company, valued at $24,715,254.85. This trade represents a 4.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 32,100 shares of company stock worth $8,243,865. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AJG shares. Needham & Company LLC set a $272.00 target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $353.00 to $334.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $300.00 price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Friday, December 19th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $329.00 to $285.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $250.00 to $247.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $290.50.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $255.11 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.13 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $253.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $278.02. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $236.34 and a fifty-two week high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.19). The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.34 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 13.58% and a return on equity of 11.98%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.26 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.86%.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.

The company’s core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.