NewEdge Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• NewEdge Advisors reduced its Arthur J. Gallagher stake by 11.3%, selling 4,865 shares and retaining 38,225 shares valued at approximately $8.28 million. Institutional investors collectively own 85.53% of AJG.
• Arthur J. Gallagher reported quarterly EPS of $2.84, topping estimates by $0.03, while revenue rose 24.3% year over year to $3.95 billion. The company also declared a $0.70 quarterly dividend, representing a 1.1% yield.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $287.65, compared with the stock’s reported price of $247.59.

NewEdge Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 11.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 38,225 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,865 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $8,279,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dearborn Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 133,936 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,661,000 after buying an additional 7,946 shares during the last quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,571,000. Gtcr LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter worth about $514,112,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 40.9% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 154,404 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,965,000 after purchasing an additional 44,824 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,371,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 0.2%

AJG opened at $247.59 on Monday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $190.75 and a fifty-two week high of $313.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market cap of $63.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.50. The firm's fifty day moving average is $236.28 and its 200 day moving average is $224.52.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.28% and a net margin of 9.96%.The business's revenue was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.33 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AJG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $235.00 to $265.00 in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $299.00 to $296.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $287.65.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $618,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 47,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,850,714. The trade was a 5.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.

The company's core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.

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