Marshall Wace LLP Sells 6,429 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Marshall Wace LLP lowered its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 14.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,350 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,429 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $10,204,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. RDST Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.9% during the second quarter. RDST Capital LLC now owns 139,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,170,000 after acquiring an additional 3,985 shares in the last quarter. Interval Partners LP purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $828,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 326,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $86,401,000 after purchasing an additional 76,423 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9.1% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 37,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,596,000 after buying an additional 3,089 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 11.9% during the second quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $444,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.68, for a total transaction of $1,992,760.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,625,146.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, President Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.96, for a total transaction of $4,244,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 329,099 shares in the company, valued at $93,121,853.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.68, for a total value of $1,992,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares in the company, valued at $21,625,146.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 44,145 shares of company stock worth $12,622,660 over the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of AJG stock opened at $279.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $61.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.57, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $218.63 and a 1 year high of $301.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $286.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $263.77.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.02. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.25% and a net margin of 10.41%. The business had revenue of $2.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.90 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 48.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AJG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays began coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $300.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $301.00 to $309.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $292.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $267.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $282.93.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.