Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Stake Trimmed by Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC

Key Points

• Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC has reduced its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 38.2%, now holding 5,665 shares valued at approximately $1.8 million.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has received mixed ratings from analysts, with one "Strong Buy," six "Buy," eight "Hold," and one "Sell," alongside an average price target of $333.13.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings miss, with EPS of $2.33, compared to expectations of $2.36, while revenue increased 16.0% year-over-year to $3.18 billion.

Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC trimmed its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 38.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,665 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,501 shares during the quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $1,797,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 114.7% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 204,024 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $57,908,000 after buying an additional 109,012 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 21.1% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 483 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 490,751 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $139,300,000 after buying an additional 101,860 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 3,927 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,115,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 39,963 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $11,343,000 after buying an additional 8,959 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $345.00 to $322.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $344.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $371.00 to $373.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $333.13.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was 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 $25,569,792. The trade was a 13.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 3,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.78, for a total value 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. The trade was 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 insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

AJG stock traded down $3.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $297.27. The company had a trading volume of 1,302,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,310,043. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $274.25 and a one year high of $351.23. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $300.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $319.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.23 and a beta of 0.72.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is currently 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.