Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Sold by Comerica Bank

Comerica Bank trimmed its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 222,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 35,472 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $68,832,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AJG. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 870.0% during the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% in the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 40.6% in the third quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 100.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AJG shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $277.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Evercore reduced their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $353.00 to $334.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Needham & Company LLC set a $272.00 price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $289.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $226.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $282.65.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of AJG opened at $207.86 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $195.00 and a 52-week high of $351.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $234.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $260.50. The company has a market capitalization of $53.44 billion, a PE ratio of 33.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.67.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 12.13%. The firm had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 33.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.53%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total value of $864,766.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,552,814.40. This represents a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.05, for a total value of $1,290,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 95,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,715,254.85. The trade was a 4.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 32,650 shares of company stock valued at $8,137,686. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.