MAI Capital Management Decreases Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

MAI Capital Management trimmed its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 360 shares during the quarter. MAI Capital Management’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $1,556,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AJG. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 89.7% in the 2nd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.68, for a total transaction of $1,992,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,963 shares in the company, valued at $21,625,146.84. The trade was a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 33,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,853,685.40. The trade was a 17.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $6,892,280. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

AJG opened at $295.88 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.92 billion, a PE ratio of 56.36, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $218.63 and a twelve month high of $301.04. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $288.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $276.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Barclays assumed 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 target price on the stock. Three 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. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.