Talbot Financial LLC Trims Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Talbot Financial LLC lowered its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 2.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,905 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 807 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. accounts for about 1.4% of Talbot Financial LLC's holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Talbot Financial LLC's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $11,360,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,672,134 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,422,435,000 after purchasing an additional 3,851,661 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 10,067,647 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,857,737,000 after purchasing an additional 305,876 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,199,413 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,327,403,000 after purchasing an additional 1,910,471 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,277,993 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,779,248,000 after purchasing an additional 787,265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at $1,421,591,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on AJG shares. Barclays increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $307.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $318.57.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total transaction of $342,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 45,323 shares in the company, valued at $15,502,278.92. This trade represents a 2.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total value of $4,645,755.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,941 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,109,256.33. The trade was a 53.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,510 shares of company stock worth $11,033,341 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded down $3.16 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $345.61. The company had a trading volume of 1,035,784 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,329,490. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $250.72 and a 52 week high of $351.31. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $333.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $315.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.01 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.85 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.45 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.63%.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.