Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Stake Cut by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp reduced its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 175,820 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 11,595 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned approximately 0.07% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $56,283,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth $34,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 209.1% during the 2nd quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Motco boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 700.0% in the first quarter. Motco now owns 112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, SouthState Corp acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter worth $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of AJG opened at $255.86 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $286.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $305.66. The company has a market cap of $65.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.34 and a beta of 0.71. 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. has a 52-week low of $239.47 and a 52-week high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.34 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The company’s revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.26 EPS. Analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 38.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $353.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $275.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $361.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $365.00 to $366.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.64.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total transaction of $2,396,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 100,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,186,742.58. The trade was a 7.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael Robert Pesch purchased 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $247.12 per share, for a total transaction of $988,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 41,849 shares in the company, valued at $10,341,724.88. This trade represents a 10.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 29,855 shares of company stock valued at $8,916,928 in the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.