North Star Investment Management Corp. trimmed its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 3.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,209 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,170 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. makes up 0.7% of North Star Investment Management Corp.'s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. North Star Investment Management Corp.'s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $9,990,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 22.5% in the first quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 1,125 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $388,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth about $382,000. IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 43,953 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $15,174,000 after buying an additional 2,362 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,750.0% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth about $58,041,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total value of $3,825,648.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at $25,569,792. This trade represents a 13.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total transaction of $2,396,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 100,777 shares in the company, valued at $30,186,742.58. This trade represents a 7.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,855 shares of company stock worth $8,916,928 over the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
AJG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $288.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Citigroup initiated coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $317.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $344.00 target price for the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $330.93.
Check Out Our Latest Report on AJG
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance
Shares of AJG opened at $304.62 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.36. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $298.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $317.66. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $275.56 and a 52-week high of $351.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.10 billion, a PE ratio of 43.27 and a beta of 0.72.
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 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 firm had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.29 EPS. The company's revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 36.93%.
About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
(
Free Report)
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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