Ayrshire Capital Management LLC Sells 5,693 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Ayrshire Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 19.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 23,723 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,693 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. accounts for about 4.0% of Ayrshire Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Ayrshire Capital Management LLC's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $8,190,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MRP Capital Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 205.4% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on AJG. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $372.00 to $371.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Barclays lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $326.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $319.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total value of $342,040.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 45,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,502,278.92. This trade represents a 2.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total value of $2,505,260.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 90,020 shares in the company, valued at $30,029,771.80. This represents a 7.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,510 shares of company stock valued at $11,033,341 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:AJG traded down $1.44 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $312.96. 1,428,673 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,340,836. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $251.42 and a 1 year high of $351.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $331.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $317.12. The firm has a market cap of $80.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.00 and a beta of 0.74.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.45 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.63%.

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.