Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Sells 4,000 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Gateway Investment Advisers LLC reduced its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.1%, selling 4,000 shares and maintaining a total of 183,472 shares valued at approximately $58.73 million.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported a quarterly EPS of $2.33, missing analysts' estimates by $0.03, and experienced a 16.0% year-over-year increase in revenue to $3.18 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, with the ex-dividend date set for September 5th, representing an annualized yield of 0.9% and a payout ratio of 36.93%.

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lessened its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 2.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 183,472 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,000 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC owned 0.07% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $58,733,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 52.3% during the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 14,965 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,248,000 after acquiring an additional 5,141 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth about $382,000. Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 430.3% in the 4th quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 563,770 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $160,026,000 after buying an additional 457,464 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $517,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 27.4% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,438,960 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $408,449,000 after purchasing an additional 309,705 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total value of $3,825,648.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 85,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,569,792. This represents a 13.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 3,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.78, for a total transaction of $899,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 114,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,407,849.06. The trade was a 2.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.1%

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded up $3.16 during trading on Friday, hitting $299.90. 2,605,274 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,301,658. The company has a market capitalization of $76.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.60 and a beta of 0.72. The business's 50 day moving average is $298.80 and its 200 day moving average is $318.33. 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 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.20 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.29 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on AJG shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $288.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $344.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $317.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $330.93.

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.