Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Sold by Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 2.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 140 shares during the quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $1,787,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AJG. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth about $1,421,591,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,672,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,422,435,000 after purchasing an additional 3,851,661 shares during the last quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth about $719,489,000. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,199,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,327,403,000 after purchasing an additional 1,910,471 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 162.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,822,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $801,115,000 after purchasing an additional 1,745,283 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $372.00 to $371.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Barclays lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $326.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $319.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.17, for a total transaction of $3,540,285.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 91,175 shares in the company, valued at $30,741,474.75. The trade was a 10.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total value of $342,040.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 45,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,502,278.92. The trade was a 2.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,000 shares of company stock worth $8,528,080 over the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG opened at $317.49 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $330.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $317.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.31 billion, a PE ratio of 45.95 and a beta of 0.74. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $251.42 and a 1 year high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.85 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 14.83% and a net margin of 14.39%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.45 EPS. On average, analysts predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 37.63%.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.