New Century Financial Group LLC Reduces Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

New Century Financial Group LLC trimmed its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 12.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 446 shares during the period. New Century Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $878,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. W Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.4% during the third quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 1,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 4,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,289,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Covenant Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% in the third quarter. Covenant Partners LLC now owns 5,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,499,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC now owns 5,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,635,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seelaus Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 5,481 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG stock opened at $287.90 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $291.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $287.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.84 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $227.08 and a 52-week high of $316.72.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 19.12%. The business’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.00 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total value of $803,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,211,438. This represents a 16.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.70, for a total value of $1,992,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,626,666.10. This represents a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $292.00 to $286.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. 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 a consensus price target of $304.07.

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.