Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Has $31.80 Million Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 2.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 113,026 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,343 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.05% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $31,802,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 580.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 89.7% in the 2nd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AJG shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank Of America (Bofa) lifted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $254.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $289.14.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total transaction of $2,103,020.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 33,267 shares in the company, valued at $9,853,685.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total value of $2,103,020.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 33,267 shares in the company, valued at $9,853,685.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.68, for a total value of $1,992,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,625,146.84. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $6,892,280 over the last ninety days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

NYSE AJG traded up $0.20 on Thursday, reaching $298.52. 19,627 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 842,775. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $65.50 billion, a PE ratio of 56.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $288.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $274.11. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $218.63 and a 12 month high of $301.04.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.26. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 19.12%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.78 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.00 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.71%.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.