Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Trims Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group cut its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 66.3% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 4,117 shares worth about $1.07 million.
• Insider selling was reported by two company vice presidents, who together sold nearly 7,800 shares in early March.
• Analysts remain constructive overall: AJG has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $264, while the stock recently traded near $202.61 after a slight decline.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 66.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,117 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,083 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $1,065,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AJG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,338,533 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,299,674,000 after purchasing an additional 3,330,205 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9,244.9% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,053,636 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $272,670,000 after acquiring an additional 1,042,361 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,107,390 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $962,483,000 after acquiring an additional 725,555 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,866,786 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $887,976,000 after acquiring an additional 593,483 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,270,807 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,013,100,000 after acquiring an additional 395,304 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value 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 $4,384,778.72. The trade was a 17.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total value of $864,766.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,552,814.40. This represents a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on AJG. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $280.00 to $250.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Friday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $275.00 to $278.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $264.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE AJG opened at $202.61 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $190.75 and a 52 week high of $351.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $211.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $231.15. The firm has a market cap of $52.05 billion, a PE ratio of 32.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.54.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.73 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 12.83%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s revenue was up 29.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.67 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is 45.31%.

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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