Amundi Sells 140,360 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Amundi reduced its Arthur J. Gallagher position by 14.9%, selling 140,360 shares in the second quarter and retaining 799,475 shares worth approximately $183.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 85.53% of AJG.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with 14 Buy ratings and five Holds producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $290.28.
• AJG shares opened at $251.47 after declining 4.3%; quarterly EPS of $2.84 exceeded estimates, while revenue rose 24.3% year over year to $3.95 billion. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, representing a 1.1% yield.

Amundi lowered its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 14.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 799,475 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 140,360 shares during the period. Amundi owned about 0.31% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $183,535,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter worth $2,825,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter worth $3,429,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 118,467 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,924,000 after purchasing an additional 5,947 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,919.2% during the second quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 19,987 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,398,000 after purchasing an additional 19,325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter valued at about $412,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on AJG. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $267.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $261.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $290.28.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 4.3%

Shares of AJG stock opened at $251.47 on Wednesday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $255.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $228.39. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $190.75 and a 12-month high of $313.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.28% and a net margin of 9.96%.The company's revenue was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.33 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is 46.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.02, for a total value of $899,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 22,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,711,755.46. The trade was a 13.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.13, for a total transaction of $3,169,560.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 90,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,840,902.06. This represents a 11.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 27,500 shares of company stock valued at $7,310,090 over the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting company. The company helps businesses, institutions and individuals identify, manage and transfer risk through insurance and related services.

Its operations include retail insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting, risk management, claims administration, actuarial services, captive insurance and wholesale brokerage. Gallagher arranges commercial property and casualty coverage, personal insurance, specialty insurance and employee benefit programs, while also providing services designed to help clients manage workplace, liability and other operational risks.

Founded in 1927 by Arthur J.

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