Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 3.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 825,828 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 32,342 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.32% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $255,792,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 3rd quarter worth about $9,877,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,338,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,299,674,000 after buying an additional 3,330,205 shares in the last quarter. Cincinnati Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the third quarter worth approximately $42,824,000. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 241.4% in the third quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 49,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,332,000 after acquiring an additional 35,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 35.4% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 71,304 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,086,000 after acquiring an additional 18,637 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total value of $864,766.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 85,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,552,814.40. This trade represents a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $908,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 19,306 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,384,778.72. The trade was a 17.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 32,650 shares of company stock worth $8,137,686 in the last ninety days. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $300.00 price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Friday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $292.00 price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $289.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $279.00 to $249.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Mizuho raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 27th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $282.65.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $207.86 on Monday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $195.00 and a 1-year high of $351.23. The company has a market capitalization of $53.44 billion, a PE ratio of 33.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The business has a 50-day moving average of $234.93 and a 200-day moving average of $259.95.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

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

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.