Alley Investment Management Company LLC Sells 21,813 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Alley Investment Management cut its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 34.9%, selling 21,813 shares and leaving 40,745 shares valued at $10.544 million.
• Two company VPs — Christopher E. Mead and Scott R. Hudson — sold 4,000 and 3,800 shares respectively (around $227/share), and insiders now own about 1.40% of the stock.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $273.94, and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.70 (annualized $2.80, ~1.3% yield).

Alley Investment Management Company LLC lessened its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 34.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,745 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 21,813 shares during the quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $10,544,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 27.3% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 105,558 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,317,000 after buying an additional 22,659 shares in the last quarter. TFR Capital LLC. boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. TFR Capital LLC. now owns 3,836 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $993,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 9,320 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,412,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at about $899,000. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 127,525 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,549,000 after purchasing an additional 13,775 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $908,480.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 19,306 shares in the company, valued at $4,384,778.72. This trade represents a 17.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,552,814.40. This represents a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $262.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $246.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $260.00 price target for the company. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $273.94.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $222.99 on Tuesday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $195.00 and a 52-week high of $351.23. The stock has a market cap of $57.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.26, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $216.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $244.56.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.61 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.13% and a net margin of 11.84%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 33.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.19 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. 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 yield of 1.3%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AJG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.