Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC reduced its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.9%, now holding 175,977 shares valued at approximately $56.33 million.
• Insider trading activity included CFO Douglas K. Howell selling 8,000 shares for over $2.39 million, representing a 7.35% decrease in his ownership.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported a miss on earnings with an EPS of $2.33, below the expected $2.36, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65.

Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC trimmed its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 175,977 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,294 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. accounts for approximately 4.1% of Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC's holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC owned about 0.07% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $56,334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth $25,000. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter worth $34,000. Centennial Bank AR bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,750.0% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total transaction of $2,396,320.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 100,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,186,742.58. This trade represents a 7.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total transaction of $3,825,648.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 85,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,569,792. This represents a 13.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,855 shares of company stock worth $8,916,928. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on AJG shares. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $346.00 to $327.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $369.00 to $365.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $288.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $330.93.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $305.83 on Thursday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $275.56 and a 52 week high of $351.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $297.71 and a 200 day moving average of $317.02. The company has a market capitalization of $78.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.44 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.36 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.20 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.29 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.93%.

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.

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