Nicola Wealth Management LTD. Trims Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Nicola Wealth Management LTD. reduced its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9%, selling 5,600 shares in the first quarter and now holding 32,000 shares worth approximately $11 million.
• Insider selling was reported, with VP Scott R. Hudson and CFO Douglas K. Howell selling 12,855 and 3,000 shares, respectively, resulting in significant decreases in their ownership positions.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, reflecting a 0.9% annualized dividend yield, with stockholders receiving this on September 19th.

Nicola Wealth Management LTD. lowered its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 14.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,600 shares during the period. Nicola Wealth Management LTD.'s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $11,048,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,411,264 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,499,185,000 after purchasing an additional 739,130 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 38.3% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,372,745 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,997,767,000 after acquiring an additional 4,815,007 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.9% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,959,673 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,021,798,000 after purchasing an additional 137,354 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.4% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,364,759 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $816,409,000 after purchasing an additional 9,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.3% during the first quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,336,591 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $796,217,000 after purchasing an additional 7,594 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG traded up $2.10 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $291.50. The company had a trading volume of 1,171,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,525,582. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.41 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $300.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $319.27. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $274.25 and a fifty-two week high of $351.23.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group decreased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $345.00 to $322.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Erste Group Bank restated a "hold" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Piper Sandler lifted 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, Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $333.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.78, for a total transaction of $899,340.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 114,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $34,407,849.06. The trade was a 2.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 stock was sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total value of $3,825,648.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,569,792. The trade was a 13.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.30% 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.