Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Sold by TD Asset Management Inc

TD Asset Management Inc lowered its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 50.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 388,058 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 394,856 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc owned 0.15% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $120,197,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth about $1,536,230,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,338,533 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,299,674,000 after acquiring an additional 3,330,205 shares during the last quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 453.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 1,121,249 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $358,934,000 after acquiring an additional 918,618 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 41,475.5% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 770,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $246,619,000 after purchasing an additional 768,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,096,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,954,625,000 after purchasing an additional 685,278 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $218.03 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $244.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $266.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market cap of $56.06 billion, a PE ratio of 35.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.66. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $195.00 and a fifty-two week high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 12.13%. The firm had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 33.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 42.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AJG. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $292.00 price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wolfe Research set a $289.00 price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Needham & Company LLC set a $272.00 target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $277.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $279.00 to $249.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $282.76.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 15,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total value of $4,041,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 79,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,284,995. This trade represents a 16.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.11, for a total value of $1,032,440.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 17,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,472,271.97. The trade was a 18.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 24,850 shares of company stock valued at $6,364,440 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.