American Century Companies Inc. Trims Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

American Century Companies Inc. trimmed its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 30.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 366,652 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 163,603 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.14% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $113,567,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 870.0% in the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 40.6% in the 3rd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the third quarter worth $62,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $229.29 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $242.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $265.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.95 billion, a PE ratio of 37.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.67. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $195.00 and a 52-week high of $351.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.28%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 95,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,715,254.85. This trade represents a 4.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 15,850 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total value of $4,041,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 79,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,284,995. The trade was a 16.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 24,850 shares of company stock valued at $6,364,440 over the last ninety days. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AJG. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wolfe Research set a $289.00 price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $226.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Evercore lowered their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $353.00 to $334.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $279.00 to $249.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $281.76.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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.