Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Sells 22,641 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Key Points

• Mawer Investment Management Ltd. has reduced its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.0%, currently holding 739,307 shares, which represents 1.2% of its portfolio.
• Insider sales occurred with VP Scott R. Hudson selling 10,500 shares and Director David S. Johnson selling 1,000 shares, indicating a decrease in their respective holdings.
• Arthur J. Gallagher's latest quarterly earnings report showed an increase in EPS to $3.67, beating analyst estimates, while the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share.

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. decreased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 3.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 739,307 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 22,641 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. makes up 1.2% of Mawer Investment Management Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.29% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $255,238,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted 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 worth $31,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted 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 worth $34,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Centennial Bank AR bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on AJG. Piper Sandler boosted 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 research report on Friday. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 7th. One equities research analyst has 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $329.75.

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

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total value of $342,040.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,741,474.75. The trade was a 10.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 25,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,528,080. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG traded down $4.96 during trading on Friday, reaching $282.29. 1,727,399 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,538,432. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $274.25 and a 52 week high of $351.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.29 billion, a PE ratio of 40.83 and a beta of 0.71. The company's 50 day moving average is $319.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $322.67.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.36 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.39% and a return on equity of 14.83%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.29 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be 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 of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.63%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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.