PFG Advisors Sells 15,060 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• PFG Advisors cut its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 45.9%, selling 15,060 shares in Q4 and leaving 17,727 shares worth $4.588 million; institutional investors own about 85.53% of the stock.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed-to-positive with a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $273.94, alongside recent target adjustments and RBC's new outperform coverage at $260.
• Arthur J. Gallagher raised its quarterly dividend to $0.70 (annualized $2.80, ~1.3% yield) and reported Q results with EPS of $2.38 beating estimates while revenue rose 33.9% YoY but slightly missed analyst revenue forecasts.

PFG Advisors cut its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 45.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,727 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 15,060 shares during the quarter. PFG Advisors' holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $4,588,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. CX Institutional lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $552,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,930 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $908,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,958 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,226,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,248 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $387,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,064 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $949,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on AJG. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 2nd. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $283.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $277.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $273.94.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.6%

AJG opened at $222.99 on Tuesday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $195.00 and a twelve month high of $351.23. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $216.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $244.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $57.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.26, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.68.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 12.13%. The firm had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. The company's revenue was up 33.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is 45.53%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total value of $908,480.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 19,306 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,384,778.72. This trade represents a 17.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total value of $864,766.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 85,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,552,814.40. This represents a 4.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

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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