Ethic Inc. Has $8.28 Million Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Ethic Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 21.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,053 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,187 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $8,278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 22.8% during the 2nd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 38,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,297,000 after acquiring an additional 7,142 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $926,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 3,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,259,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. VCI Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. VCI Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,671 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,136,000 after acquiring an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Klingman & Associates LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter valued at $285,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

NYSE AJG opened at $282.98 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $298.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $312.92. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $275.56 and a twelve month high of $351.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.56 billion, a PE ratio of 40.20 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.36.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.36 by ($0.03). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.29 EPS. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.93%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total transaction of $3,825,648.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at $25,569,792. This represents a 13.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total value of $2,396,320.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 100,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,186,742.58. The trade was a 7.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,855 shares of company stock valued at $8,916,928. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AJG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $331.43.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co engages in the provision of insurance brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party claims settlement and administration services. It operates through the following segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.