Securian Asset Management Inc. Decreases Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Securian Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 0.4% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 60 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $4,284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 43,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,174,000 after buying an additional 2,362 shares in the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $58,041,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,750.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,280 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,879,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 764,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $263,695,000 after buying an additional 54,714 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total value of $2,396,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 100,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,186,742.58. This represents a 7.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 29,855 shares of company stock valued at $8,916,928. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $365.00 to $366.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $344.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $331.43.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 0.2%

AJG stock opened at $278.75 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $71.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.59 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $299.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $313.13. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $275.56 and a 52 week high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.93%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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.