FORA Capital LLC Sells 6,432 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

FORA Capital LLC cut its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 83.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,432 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $354,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AJG. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 205.4% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total transaction of $3,229,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 69,774 shares in the company, valued at $22,536,304.26. The trade was a 12.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total transaction of $2,505,260.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 90,020 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,029,771.80. This trade represents a 7.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,835 shares of company stock worth $5,839,830. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $338.67 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $330.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $310.13. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $244.60 and a 1-year high of $350.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.94 and a beta of 0.78.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 16.47%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.45 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share 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, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 37.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on AJG shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $315.33.

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.