Segment Wealth Management LLC Trims Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Segment Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 1.1% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 43,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 475 shares during the period. Segment Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $13,871,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. New Century Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.0% during the 2nd quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 1,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $419,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 23.2% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 743 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $238,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 57,342 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,356,000 after acquiring an additional 7,796 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 33.5% during the 2nd quarter. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. now owns 118,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,951,000 after acquiring an additional 29,752 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total transaction of $2,396,320.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 100,777 shares in the company, valued at $30,186,742.58. This represents a 7.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $3,825,648.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,569,792. This trade represents a 13.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 29,855 shares of company stock valued at $8,916,928. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE:AJG opened at $310.95 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $275.56 and a 1-year high of $351.23. The company has a 50-day moving average of $297.60 and a 200 day moving average of $316.74. The firm has a market cap of $79.73 billion, a PE ratio of 44.17 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.36.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%.The business had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.20 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on AJG. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. UBS Group increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $317.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $369.00 to $365.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $288.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $328.80.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.