Man Group plc Trims Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Man Group plc trimmed its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 34.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,482 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 17,915 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $9,504,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AJG. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 205.4% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE AJG traded up $2.90 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $338.38. The stock had a trading volume of 859,406 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,322,236. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $244.60 and a 1 year high of $350.70. The stock has a market cap of $86.66 billion, a PE ratio of 51.90 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $332.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $313.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 16.47%. The company had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.45 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on AJG shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $318.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total transaction of $2,505,260.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 90,020 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,029,771.80. This represents a 7.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,941 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,109,256.33. The trade was a 53.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,510 shares of company stock worth $11,033,341. 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.