Jackson Wealth Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Jackson Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 93.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,735 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 24,724 shares during the period. Jackson Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $398,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,825,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter worth approximately $3,429,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.3% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 118,467 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,924,000 after buying an additional 5,947 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,919.2% during the 2nd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 19,987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,398,000 after buying an additional 19,325 shares during the period. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at about $412,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $262.39 on Tuesday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $190.75 and a 52-week high of $313.55. The company has a market cap of $67.25 billion, a PE ratio of 43.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $250.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $226.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.28% and a net margin of 9.96%.The business had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.33 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 46.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.08, for a total value of $3,240,960.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 71,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,254,543.36. This trade represents a 14.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.02, for a total value of $899,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 22,223 shares in the company, valued at $5,711,755.46. This trade represents a 13.61% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $235.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $225.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $291.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Argus upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $267.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $290.28.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

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.