Sands Capital Management LLC Sells 27,179 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Sands Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,094,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 27,179 shares during the period. Sands Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.43% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $338,877,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AJG. Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the third quarter valued at $9,877,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of 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. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 107.1% during the second quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 14,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,642,000 after purchasing an additional 7,500 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.4% in the second quarter. Boston Partners now owns 735,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $234,226,000 after purchasing an additional 2,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cincinnati Financial Corp purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,824,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $211.69 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $237.97 and its 200 day moving average is $261.90. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $195.00 and a 52 week high of $351.23. 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 company has a market cap of $54.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.42, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.67.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.61 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 11.84% and a return on equity of 12.13%. The company’s revenue was up 33.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total value of $864,766.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,552,814.40. This represents a 4.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 15,850 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $4,041,750.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 79,549 shares in the company, valued at $20,284,995. The trade was a 16.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 32,650 shares of company stock valued at $8,137,686 in the last 90 days. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $292.00 price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $277.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Wolfe Research set a $289.00 price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Needham & Company LLC set a $272.00 target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $285.00 to $283.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $282.65.

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.