Merit Financial Group LLC Sells 4,495 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Merit Financial Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 35.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,036 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,495 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $2,489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 91.8% during the 3rd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 50,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,509,000 after buying an additional 23,972 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,338,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,299,674,000 after acquiring an additional 3,330,205 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 89,544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,735,000 after acquiring an additional 3,795 shares in the last quarter. Pelham Capital Ltd. acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter worth $13,837,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 90,375 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,993,000 after purchasing an additional 3,229 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.11, for a total transaction of $1,032,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 17,327 shares in the company, valued at $4,472,271.97. This represents a 18.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.05, for a total transaction of $1,290,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 95,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,715,254.85. This trade represents a 4.96% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 26,100 shares of company stock valued at $6,677,865 over the last three months. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Mizuho set a $277.00 target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $311.00 to $298.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Evercore cut their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $353.00 to $334.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $283.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $250.00 to $247.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $284.12.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of AJG opened at $214.36 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $248.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $269.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $55.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.66. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $195.00 and a 52 week high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.13% and a net margin of 11.84%.The firm had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.28%.

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.