Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Stock Position Lowered by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group trimmed its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.3% to 575,690 shares (about $148.98M), and institutional investors now own roughly 85.53% of the company.
• Arthur J. Gallagher reported Q4 EPS of $2.38 (vs. $2.35 est.) and revenue of $3.57B, up 33.9% year-over-year, and the board raised the quarterly dividend to $0.70 ($2.80 annualized, ~1.3% yield).
• Two executives sold a combined ~7,800 shares for about $1.77M, while analysts hold a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with a $274 target (Barclays raised its target to $275).

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 575,690 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 19,675 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.22% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $148,983,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 870.0% in the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the third quarter worth $39,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 40.6% during the third quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 135 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 100.0% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 136 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE:AJG opened at $213.25 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.68, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.68. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $195.00 and a 1-year 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 0.52. The business's fifty day moving average price is $218.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $248.10.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.13% and a net margin of 11.84%.Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s quarterly revenue was up 33.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is presently 45.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total transaction of $864,766.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,552,814.40. The trade was a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $908,480.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 19,306 shares in the company, valued at $4,384,778.72. The trade was a 17.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $262.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $292.00 target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $300.00 target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $274.00.

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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