Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Sold by GC Wealth Management RIA LLC

GC Wealth Management RIA LLC decreased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 114 shares during the period. GC Wealth Management RIA LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $441,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 67,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,893,000 after purchasing an additional 11,752 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 231.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 885,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $249,237,000 after acquiring an additional 618,362 shares during the last quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 48,722 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,830,000 after acquiring an additional 3,983 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 183,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,732,000 after acquiring an additional 2,092 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 22,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,381,000 after acquiring an additional 3,217 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $344.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $295.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.93.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $326.26 on Wednesday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $230.08 and a 52 week high of $345.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.10 billion, a PE ratio of 50.04 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $309.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $297.47.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 39.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total value of $3,229,900.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 69,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,536,304.26. The trade was a 12.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.33, for a total value of $760,825.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,031,487.89. This represents a 13.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 15,725 shares of company stock worth $4,972,964. Insiders own 1.60% 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 business segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.