Empowered Funds LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 457 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $2,302,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at $252,000. Pitcairn Co. increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 12.5% in the first quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 2,346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $587,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 24.2% in the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 2,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $581,000 after buying an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at $231,000. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.3% in the first quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,350,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE AJG opened at $292.33 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $218.63 and a 52-week high of $301.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $288.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $275.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.26. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.78 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 19.12%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.00 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.11 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total value of $803,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,211,438. This trade represents a 16.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total transaction of $2,103,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 33,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,853,685.40. This trade represents a 17.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $6,892,280 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AJG shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $292.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $300.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $241.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.14.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.