Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG is Ballew Advisors Inc's 6th Largest Position

Key Points

• Ballew Advisors Inc has reduced its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.8%, making it the firm's 6th largest position at approximately $5.33 million.
• Research firms have altered their ratings on AJG, with Goldman Sachs initiating coverage with a "buy" rating and a price target of $344.00.
• Insider selling included VP Scott R. Hudson selling 12,855 shares for over $3.82 million, indicating a 13.01% decrease in his ownership.

Ballew Advisors Inc lessened its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 5.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,755 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,036 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. accounts for approximately 3.2% of Ballew Advisors Inc's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Ballew Advisors Inc's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $5,330,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,899 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,001,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 3,812 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,289,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 1,603 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. City Holding Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 1,140 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 34.3% during the 1st quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 133 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on AJG. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $344.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $317.00 price target for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $333.13.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total transaction of $3,825,648.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,569,792. This trade represents a 13.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.78, for a total transaction of $899,340.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 114,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,407,849.06. This trade represents a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $297.27 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The company has a market cap of $76.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.23 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $274.25 and a 1 year high of $351.23. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $300.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $319.61.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.36 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.29 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.93%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co engages in the provision of insurance brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party claims settlement and administration services. It operates through the following segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.

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