Sigma Planning Corp Reduces Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Sigma Planning Corp lowered its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 78.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,966 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AJG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,338,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,299,674,000 after acquiring an additional 3,330,205 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,107,390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $962,483,000 after acquiring an additional 725,555 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,866,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $887,976,000 after acquiring an additional 593,483 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,270,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,013,100,000 after acquiring an additional 395,304 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Credit Agricole S A purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $95,337,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 1.6%

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $198.71 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $194.15 and a twelve month high of $351.23. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $216.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $237.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.15, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.54.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.04. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 10.76%.The company had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AJG. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $275.00 to $278.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $283.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $268.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total transaction of $864,766.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,552,814.40. This trade represents a 4.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $908,480.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 19,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,384,778.72. The trade was a 17.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.