Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Cuts Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC decreased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 97.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 321 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,271 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $111,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at $1,421,591,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,672,134 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,422,435,000 after buying an additional 3,851,661 shares during the last quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at $719,489,000. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,199,413 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,327,403,000 after buying an additional 1,910,471 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 162.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,822,319 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $801,115,000 after buying an additional 1,745,283 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

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

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 transaction of $4,645,755.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,109,256.33. This trade represents a 53.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 now directly owns 91,175 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,741,474.75. The trade was a 10.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,000 shares of company stock worth $8,528,080. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE:AJG opened at $326.18 on Wednesday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $330.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $317.82. The company has a market capitalization of $83.53 billion, a PE ratio of 47.20 and a beta of 0.74. 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. has a 1-year low of $251.42 and a 1-year high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.45 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AJG shares. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 price target for the company. 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 for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 report on Monday, June 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $319.29.

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.

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