Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Lowers Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC reduced its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.7%, selling 8,559 shares and retaining a total of 488,468 shares.
• Analysts have issued mixed ratings on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., with Barclays lowering their price target to $327.00 while Wells Fargo increased it to $373.00, resulting in a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $331.07.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, with the ex-dividend date set for September 5th, representing an annualized yield of 0.9%.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lowered its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 488,468 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,559 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. makes up about 0.8% of Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC owned approximately 0.19% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $168,639,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,899 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.8% in the first quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 3,812 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,289,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.1% in the first quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 1,603 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Allred Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Allred Capital Management LLC now owns 3,380 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $960,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City Holding Co. boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.1% in the first quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 1,140 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG traded up $3.5350 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $298.0450. 284,465 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,541,248. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $274.25 and a one year high of $351.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.34 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The business has a 50-day moving average of $307.55 and a 200 day moving average of $322.69.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.36 by ($0.03). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%.The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.29 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AJG shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $371.00 to $373.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 7th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $345.00 to $322.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $331.07.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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.