Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Reduces Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 15.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,471 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,349 shares during the quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $2,580,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 22.5% during the first quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $388,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $382,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,750.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 948 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Seven Grand Managers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,096,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total value of $4,645,755.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 11,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,109,256.33. This trade represents a 53.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.17, for a total transaction of $3,540,285.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 91,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,741,474.75. This trade represents a 10.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,528,080 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:AJG traded down $2.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $311.04. The company had a trading volume of 310,561 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,538,817. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $328.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $320.32. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $267.00 and a one year high of $351.23. The company has a market capitalization of $79.66 billion, a PE ratio of 45.01 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.44.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 14.83% and a net margin of 14.39%. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.45 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is 37.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AJG shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $372.00 to $371.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $318.21.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

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.