Congress Asset Management Co. Sells 392,825 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Congress Asset Management Co. reduced its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 98.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 392,825 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $1,652,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AJG. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 40.6% in the third quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 136 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,384,778.72. This represents a 17.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total transaction of $864,766.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,552,814.40. The trade was a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on AJG shares. Wall Street Zen raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. Needham & Company LLC set a $272.00 price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $298.00 to $273.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Friday, January 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $273.82.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 1.1%

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $213.94 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $227.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $255.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $195.00 and a 12 month high of $351.23. The stock has a market cap of $55.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.67.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.03. The company 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%.Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.53%.

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.