Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Sold by HMS Capital Management LLC

HMS Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,365 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 147 shares during the period. HMS Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $1,397,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AJG. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth $25,000. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth $33,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth $34,000. Centennial Bank AR acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,750.0% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total value of $3,825,648.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,569,792. This represents a 13.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.78, for a total transaction of $899,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 114,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,407,849.06. The trade was a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG opened at $297.27 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $274.25 and a 1-year high of $351.23. The stock has a market cap of $76.22 billion, a PE ratio of 42.23 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $300.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $319.70.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 36.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AJG. 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 research report on Monday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $344.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $333.13.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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.