Atria Investments Inc Sells 3,889 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Atria Investments Inc decreased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,512 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,889 shares during the quarter. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $6,663,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 870.0% during the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% in the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 40.6% during the third quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 100.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter valued at $45,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.05, for a total transaction of $1,290,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 95,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,715,254.85. The trade was a 4.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.00, for a total value of $1,566,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 50,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,224,348. This represents a 10.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 32,100 shares of company stock valued at $8,243,865 in the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $208.22 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market cap of $53.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.66. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $195.00 and a 52 week high of $351.23. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $249.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $270.81.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.13% and a net margin of 11.84%.The company’s revenue was up 33.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on AJG. BMO Capital Markets lowered Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $289.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Needham & Company LLC set a $272.00 price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $279.00 to $249.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $284.12.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.

The company’s core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.