Citigroup Inc. Has $62.73 Million Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Citigroup Inc. decreased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 20.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 202,521 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 51,927 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.08% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $62,729,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its position in 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. raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Solstein Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter worth about $49,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AJG. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $292.00 price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $277.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC set a $272.00 target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $282.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.05, for a total value of $1,290,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 15,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $4,041,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 79,549 shares in the company, valued at $20,284,995. This trade represents a 16.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 24,850 shares of company stock worth $6,364,440. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $214.25 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $195.00 and a one year high of $351.23. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $245.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $267.54. The stock has a market cap of $55.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.84, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 42.28%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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.