Nicola Wealth Management LTD. Boosts Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Nicola Wealth Management LTD. increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 71.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,900 shares during the period. Nicola Wealth Management LTD.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $13,288,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.8% in the second quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,625 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $520,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the period. Patton Fund Management Inc. purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $219,000. ORG Partners LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 41.8% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 241 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.9% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,396,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tritonpoint Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

AJG opened at $255.11 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $65.51 billion, a P/E 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. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $236.34 and a 1-year high of $351.23. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $253.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $278.02.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were given 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 was Friday, December 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 6,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.00, for a total transaction of $1,566,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 50,668 shares in the company, valued at $13,224,348. The trade was a 10.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.11, for a total transaction of $1,032,440.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 17,327 shares in the company, valued at $4,472,271.97. The trade was a 18.76% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 32,100 shares of company stock worth $8,243,865 in the last 90 days. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AJG has been the subject of several research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $344.00 to $282.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $292.00 price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Mizuho set a $277.00 target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research set a $289.00 price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $290.50.

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.