Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Stake Lowered by James Hambro & Partners LLP

James Hambro & Partners LLP cut its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 51.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 15,000 shares during the quarter. James Hambro & Partners LLP’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $3,252,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,242,088 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $702,182,000 after buying an additional 409,145 shares in the last quarter. Gtcr LLC acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at about $514,112,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,970,990 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $426,887,000 after acquiring an additional 101,431 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 23.0% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,854,488 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $401,645,000 after acquiring an additional 346,409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.3% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,453,774 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $333,743,000 after purchasing an additional 3,905 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of AJG traded down $2.85 on Monday, reaching $252.03. 358,010 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,876,245. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $246.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $232.29. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $190.75 and a 12 month high of $284.33.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 9.96% and a return on equity of 13.28%. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.33 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 8th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on AJG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $250.00 price target (down from $271.00) on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $292.00 to $271.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Evercore upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $295.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $280.74.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott Hudson sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.13, for a total transaction of $3,169,560.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 90,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,840,902.06. This trade represents a 11.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Richard Cary sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.86, for a total value of $252,860.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 46,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,838,652.34. The trade was a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 28,500 shares of company stock worth $7,562,950. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting company. The firm helps businesses, public entities and individuals identify, manage and transfer risk through insurance and related services.

Its operations include retail insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting, wholesale brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, claims administration and risk management consulting. Gallagher places commercial and personal insurance coverage and provides services related to property and casualty risks, health care, benefits, and other specialized insurance needs.

Founded in 1927 by Arthur J.