Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Sold by HighPoint Advisor Group LLC

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC reduced its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 13.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,929 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $4,948,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AJG. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.3% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,930 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $908,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,226,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.4% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $949,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.7% in the third quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 1,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $501,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Journey Strategic Wealth LLC raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.9% in the third quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 1,551 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $480,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG stock opened at $198.62 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $215.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $236.62. The firm has a market cap of $51.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.14, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.54. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $194.15 and a 1 year high of $351.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 10.76%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.67 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.31%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total transaction of $864,766.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 85,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,552,814.40. This trade represents a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $908,480.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 19,306 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,384,778.72. This represents a 17.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AJG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $275.00 to $278.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $235.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $266.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $226.00 to $211.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $268.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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.