Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 13.6% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 858,170 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 134,509 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $274,717,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AJG. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth $34,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 209.1% during the second quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. SouthState Corp purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Steph & Co. acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter worth about $40,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $239.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $238.65 and a 1 year high of $351.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.56 billion, a PE ratio of 35.83 and a beta of 0.69. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $269.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $295.77.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.19). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 13.58% and a return on equity of 11.98%. The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.26 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total transaction of $2,396,320.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 100,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,186,742.58. This trade represents a 7.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total value of $3,825,648.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 85,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,569,792. The trade was a 13.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 37,105 shares of company stock worth $10,796,353 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $275.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Barclays cut Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $328.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $353.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $330.00 to $277.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $291.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.87.

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 segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.