Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC Cuts Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 57.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 74,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 101,061 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. makes up 3.6% of Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $23,204,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC now owns 144,228 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,673,000 after purchasing an additional 20,072 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the third quarter valued at about $12,377,000. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the third quarter worth about $129,000. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.1% in the third quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 1,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $411,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Dynasty Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,628 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $814,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Michael Robert Pesch bought 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $247.12 per share, with a total value of $988,480.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 41,849 shares in the company, valued at $10,341,724.88. This represents a 10.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 15,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $4,041,750.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 79,549 shares in the company, valued at $20,284,995. This represents a 16.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 32,100 shares of company stock worth $8,243,865. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $250.15 on Thursday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $236.34 and a 1 year high of $351.23. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $254.00 and its 200 day moving average is $279.57. The stock has a market cap of $64.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.39 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.19). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 11.98% and a net margin of 13.58%.The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.34 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.26 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AJG shares. Mizuho set a $277.00 price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $330.00 to $277.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $344.00 to $282.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $329.00 to $285.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $290.50.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.

The company’s core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.