Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Cuts Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. reduced its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 145,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,971 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $33,390,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Dearborn Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 133,936 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,661,000 after acquiring an additional 7,946 shares during the last quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,571,000. Gtcr LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $514,112,000. SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd. purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,371,000. Finally, Evelyn Partners Investment Management Services Ltd purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at $5,848,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.00, for a total value of $618,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 47,819 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,850,714. This trade represents a 5.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.08, for a total value of $3,240,960.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 71,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,254,543.36. The trade was a 14.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 18,500 shares of company stock worth $4,758,530. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of AJG stock opened at $267.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $249.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $225.78. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $190.75 and a fifty-two week high of $313.55.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.81 by $0.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 9.96% and a return on equity of 13.28%. The company had revenue of $3.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.33 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AJG. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $261.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $235.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $290.28.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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.