Leeward Financial Partners LLC Has $2.49 Million Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Key Points

• Leeward Financial Partners LLC reduced its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 12.4% in the first quarter, now owning 7,223 shares valued at approximately $2.49 million.
• Research firms have adjusted target prices for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., with Barclays setting a target of $327.00 and UBS lowering it to $322.00, while Piper Sandler increased theirs to $372.00.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. plans to distribute a quarterly dividend of $0.65 on September 19th, representing an annualized yield of 0.9%.

Leeward Financial Partners LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 12.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,223 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,027 shares during the quarter. Leeward Financial Partners LLC's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $2,494,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,411,264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,499,185,000 after buying an additional 739,130 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 28.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,458,113 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $503,399,000 after acquiring an additional 322,861 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter worth about $370,000. Natural Investments LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at about $242,000. Finally, Wealthspire Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 79.9% during the 1st quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 7,574 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,615,000 after purchasing an additional 3,365 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

NYSE:AJG traded up $3.65 on Thursday, hitting $289.91. The company had a trading volume of 3,115,967 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,499,937. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $314.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $322.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.18 and a beta of 0.68. 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 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.29 EPS. The company's revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AJG. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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 research report on Friday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $345.00 to $322.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. 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. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $329.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total transaction of $342,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 45,323 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,502,278.92. This trade represents a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was 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 directly owned 11,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,109,256.33. This represents a 53.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,000 shares of company stock worth $8,528,080 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

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.