Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 14,469 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 43.8%, buying 14,469 shares to hold 47,482 shares worth about $12.29 million.
• Two company VPs sold a combined ~7,800 shares at roughly $227 each (about $1.77 million total), and insiders now own 1.40% of the stock.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target of $273.94, versus the recent share price around $215.29, suggesting potential upside.

Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 43.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,482 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 14,469 shares during the quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $12,288,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 870.0% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% in the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the third quarter worth $39,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 100.0% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 136 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 668.2% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $908,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 19,306 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,384,778.72. This trade represents a 17.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total value of $864,766.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,552,814.40. The trade was a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on AJG shares. Wall Street Zen raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $266.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $246.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $283.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $273.94.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $215.29 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $55.35 billion, a PE ratio of 35.01, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a fifty day moving average of $217.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $241.44. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $195.00 and a 52-week high of $351.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.61 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.13% and a net margin of 11.84%.The business's revenue was up 33.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.53%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.

The company's core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.

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