Cerity Partners LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 15.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,751 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,823 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $12,343,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 22.5% in the first quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $388,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at about $382,000. 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 during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 948 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,280 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,879,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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 research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $372.00 to $371.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 9th. 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 report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $318.21.

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

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 91,175 shares in the company, valued at $30,741,474.75. This represents a 10.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total transaction of $4,645,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 11,941 shares in the company, valued at $4,109,256.33. This represents a 53.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $8,528,080 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE AJG opened at $311.52 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $267.00 and a 52 week high of $351.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.78 billion, a PE ratio of 45.08 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $327.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $320.93.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 14.39% and a return on equity of 14.83%. The company had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.45 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.63%.

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.

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