Choreo LLC Reduces Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Choreo LLC decreased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 23.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,694 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,119 shares during the period. Choreo LLC's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $4,728,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Centennial Bank AR purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 205.4% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,750.0% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.17, for a total value of $3,540,285.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 91,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,741,474.75. The trade was a 10.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total transaction of $342,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 45,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,502,278.92. This represents a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $8,528,080. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AJG shares. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $326.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $372.00 to $371.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $318.21.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:AJG traded up $6.09 on Friday, hitting $315.15. 897,383 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,269,745. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $267.00 and a 12 month high of $351.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.61 and a beta of 0.71. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $322.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $322.73. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.85 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.39% and a return on equity of 14.83%. The company's revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.45 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.