Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Sells 8,218 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Key Points

• Westfield Capital Management trimmed its Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stake by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 8,218 shares and ending with 259,491 shares worth about $67.2 million.
• Insider selling also occurred, as CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares for $618,000, reducing his ownership by 5.9%.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on AJG, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a target price of $264, while the stock recently traded up 2.6% to $216.58.

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP reduced its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 259,491 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,218 shares during the quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP owned 0.10% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $67,154,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 136 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 668.2% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 84.8% during the 4th quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 183 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $618,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 47,819 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,850,714. The trade was a 5.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $266.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $240.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $235.00 to $225.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Citigroup upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $280.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $264.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of AJG stock opened at $216.58 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.64 billion, a PE ratio of 35.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.52. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $190.75 and a 1-year high of $330.78. The business has a 50-day moving average of $210.49 and a 200 day moving average of $229.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $4.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.73 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 10.76%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 29.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.67 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s payout ratio is presently 45.31%.

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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