Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Stake Lifted by Merit Financial Group LLC

Key Points

• Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 47.7% in the second quarter, holding 12,531 shares valued at approximately $4 million.
• Wall Street analysts have issued various ratings for the company, with an average rating of "Hold" and a price target of $328.80.
• Insiders sold a total of 29,855 shares, valued at nearly $8.9 million, over the last three months, indicating a potential decrease in management confidence.

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 47.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,531 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,047 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $4,011,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of AJG. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 22.5% in the 1st quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $388,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth $382,000. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.7% during the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 43,953 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $15,174,000 after purchasing an additional 2,362 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth about $58,041,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,750.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AJG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays decreased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $369.00 to $365.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $328.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,569,792. This trade represents a 13.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total transaction of $2,396,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 100,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,186,742.58. The trade was a 7.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,855 shares of company stock valued at $8,916,928 over the last three months. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

NYSE AJG opened at $309.30 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $275.56 and a 1 year high of $351.23. The company has a market cap of $79.30 billion, a PE ratio of 43.93 and a beta of 0.73. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $297.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $316.39.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.36 by ($0.03). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is 36.93%.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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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