Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Position Reduced by Premier Fund Managers Ltd

Key Points

• Premier Fund Managers Ltd trimmed its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.3% in Q4, selling 25,258 shares and ending the quarter with 105,503 shares valued at about $27.63 million (1.6% of the fund, its 26th-largest position).
• Two company VPs — Scott R. Hudson and Christopher E. Mead — sold a combined 7,800 shares in early March for roughly $1.77 million, reducing their holdings by 4.24% and 17.16%, respectively.
• Analysts rate AJG a “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $270.06 (11 Buys, 8 Holds), while the stock recently traded near $197; the company modestly beat quarterly EPS expectations and reported revenue up 29% year-over-year.

Premier Fund Managers Ltd trimmed its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 19.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 105,503 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 25,258 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. makes up 1.6% of Premier Fund Managers Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Premier Fund Managers Ltd's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $27,634,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AJG. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth $2,825,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth $3,429,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.3% during the second 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 raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $6,398,000 after purchasing an additional 19,325 shares during the period. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter worth about $412,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at $19,552,814.40. This trade represents a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $908,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 19,306 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,384,778.72. The trade was a 17.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AJG. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $259.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 13th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $275.00 to $278.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $283.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $262.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $266.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $270.06.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $197.27 on Thursday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $195.00 and a twelve month high of $351.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a 50-day moving average of $216.69 and a 200-day moving average of $238.30. The firm has a market cap of $50.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.54.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.04. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 12.83%. The company had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.67 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 29.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.31%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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.

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