Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stake by 23.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 15,411 shares and leaving it with 50,929 shares valued at about $13.18 million.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $4.47 per share, though revenue of $4.71 billion came in slightly below estimates. Revenue still rose 29% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, and analysts currently view AJG as a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $264.00.

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 23.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 50,929 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 15,411 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $13,180,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AJG. Yanni & Associates Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth about $235,000. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Tucker Asset Management LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC now owns 1,274 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,250,000. Finally, ARS Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC now owns 82,754 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $21,416,000 after acquiring an additional 857 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.1%

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $204.89 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $190.75 and a 1-year high of $351.23. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $211.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $232.41. The company has a market capitalization of $52.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.54.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.67 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s revenue for the quarter was up 29.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is 45.31%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were 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 owned 85,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,552,814.40. The trade was a 4.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $908,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AJG. Barclays raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $262.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $226.00 to $211.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 1st. UBS Group set a $240.00 target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of 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. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $259.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $264.00.

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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