Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Sold by Voya Investment Management LLC

Voya Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 80.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 136,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 572,914 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $42,272,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AJG. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.3% during the second quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $494,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $948,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% in the second quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,761,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% during the second quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC now owns 3,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,032,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.2% during the second quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,892 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $926,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $253.17 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $65.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.84 and a beta of 0.69. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $258.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $289.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $236.34 and a 52-week high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.19). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 11.98% and a net margin of 13.58%.The company had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 38.86%.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, VP Michael Robert Pesch acquired 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $247.12 per share, for a total transaction of $988,480.00. Following the acquisition, the vice president owned 41,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,341,724.88. This trade represents a 10.57% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total value 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 represents a 7.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 15,250 shares of company stock valued at $4,275,745 in the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on AJG. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $330.00 to $277.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Needham & Company LLC set a $272.00 target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Thursday. Barclays lowered shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $328.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $272.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $329.00 to $285.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $303.11.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.