Ritholtz Wealth Management Has $1.95 Million Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $1,947,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 175.6% during the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 460.9% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the third quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 0.9 %

AJG traded up $2.27 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $250.06. The stock had a trading volume of 960,704 shares, compared to its average volume of 888,885. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $186.88 and a 1-year high of $256.10. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $242.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $237.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.68.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.02. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 9.63% and a return on equity of 18.49%. The firm had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.40 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.54 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 54.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AJG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $279.00 to $233.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $246.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $249.00 target price for the company. Finally, Raymond James downgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $255.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 12,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.65, for a total value of $2,925,233.85. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 322,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,712,707.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 12,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.65, for a total transaction of $2,925,233.85. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 322,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,712,707.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.04, for a total value of $117,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 45,038 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,540,693.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,016 shares of company stock valued at $7,176,180 in the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.