Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 321,149 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 89.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 321,149 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $10,315,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 27.8% in the second quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 5,299 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,696,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.9% during the 2nd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,002,000 after acquiring an additional 764 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 38.9% during the second quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 6,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,945,000 after purchasing an additional 1,701 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 24.3% during the 2nd quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $608,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 143.0% in the second quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 260 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of AJG opened at $206.73 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.61, a PEG ratio of 1.05 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. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $195.00 and a 1-year high of $351.23. The company has a 50-day moving average of $225.18 and a 200 day moving average of $254.32.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. 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 currently 45.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AJG. Barclays raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $247.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $292.00 price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $283.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 21st. 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. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $273.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,552,814.40. The trade was a 4.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $908,480.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.