Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Position Lowered by Brookmont Capital Management

Key Points

• Brookmont Capital Management reduced its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.9% during Q1, now holding 16,981 shares valued at $5,863,000.
• Insider activity includes Director David S. Johnson selling 1,000 shares for over $342,000, and VP Scott R. Hudson selling 10,500 shares for approximately $3.54 million.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, with a proposed ex-dividend date of September 5th.

Brookmont Capital Management decreased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 6.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,981 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,251 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. comprises 3.3% of Brookmont Capital Management's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Brookmont Capital Management's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $5,863,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 48.0% in the 1st quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 185,433 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $64,019,000 after acquiring an additional 60,129 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 83.0% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 268,192 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $92,591,000 after acquiring an additional 121,603 shares in the last quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at about $219,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.5% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,286,895 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $789,528,000 after buying an additional 373,819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 15.9% in the first quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 314 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $108,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on AJG. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of 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, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on 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. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $371.00 to $373.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $329.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $337.17, for a total transaction of $3,540,285.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 91,175 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,741,474.75. This trade represents a 10.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $15,502,278.92. The trade was a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,000 shares of company stock worth $8,528,080 in the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

NYSE:AJG traded up $0.14 on Friday, hitting $290.13. The company had a trading volume of 1,726,231 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,608,295. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $312.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $322.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.21 and a beta of 0.68. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $274.25 and a 52 week high of $351.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.29 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.