Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 7.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 44,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,625 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $10,120,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% in the second 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 period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 12,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.08, for a total value of $3,240,960.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 71,292 shares in the company, valued at $19,254,543.36. This trade represents a 14.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.13, for a total transaction of $3,169,560.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 90,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,840,902.06. This represents a 11.73% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 27,500 shares of company stock worth $7,310,090 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 2.7%

AJG stock opened at $244.65 on Thursday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $190.75 and a 52-week high of $313.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market cap of $62.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.57, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $255.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $228.58.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.28% and a net margin of 9.96%.Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue for the quarter was up 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.33 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AJG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $261.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $235.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Barclays lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $290.28.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting company. The company helps businesses, institutions and individuals identify, manage and transfer risk through insurance and related services.

Its operations include retail insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting, risk management, claims administration, actuarial services, captive insurance and wholesale brokerage. Gallagher arranges commercial property and casualty coverage, personal insurance, specialty insurance and employee benefit programs, while also providing services designed to help clients manage workplace, liability and other operational risks.

Founded in 1927 by Arthur J.