Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Sells 5,032 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. reduced its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 83.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,032 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $283,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AJG. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,305,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,462,392,000 after purchasing an additional 580,134 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,932,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,513,199,000 after buying an additional 47,656 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,490,728 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,541,044,000 after buying an additional 79,429 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,029,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $576,004,000 after acquiring an additional 184,960 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 126.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,003,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $568,619,000 after acquiring an additional 1,117,441 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $332.02 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $84.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.92 and a beta of 0.75. The business’s 50-day moving average is $316.96 and its 200 day moving average is $299.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $230.08 and a 12 month high of $345.43.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 16.47%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 39.88%.

Insider Activity

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total transaction of $104,669.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 44,783 shares in the company, valued at $14,422,812.98. The trade was a 0.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total transaction of $877,569.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,440,499.14. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 23,235 shares of company stock worth $7,478,224. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AJG shares. TD Cowen raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $295.00 to $377.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $341.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $314.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $310.43.

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.