Focus Partners Wealth Sells 8,736 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Focus Partners Wealth lowered its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 24.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,703 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,736 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $9,564,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Glenview Trust co lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.2% during the first quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 1,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 51.1% during the first quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 2,356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $814,000 after purchasing an additional 797 shares during the last quarter. SCS Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth about $786,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.3% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,529,566 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $528,067,000 after buying an additional 90,606 shares during the period. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth about $58,041,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of AJG stock opened at $297.27 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $274.25 and a 52-week high of $351.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.22 billion, a PE ratio of 42.23 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $300.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $319.70.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.93%.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.78, for a total transaction of $899,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 114,777 shares in the company, valued at $34,407,849.06. This trade represents a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president owned 85,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,569,792. The trade was a 13.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on AJG. Citigroup began coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $317.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $344.00 price objective on the stock. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $333.13.

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.