Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. Has $86.73 Million Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. lessened its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 270,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,549 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. comprises 4.1% of Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $86,734,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Menard Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 3,812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,289,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $494,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.3% in the first quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $948,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tritonpoint Wealth LLC raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC now owns 3,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,032,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of AJG opened at $258.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market cap of $66.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.72 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $284.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $304.86. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $239.47 and a 1 year high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.19). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.26 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total value of $3,825,648.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 85,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,569,792. This trade represents a 13.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael Robert Pesch bought 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $247.12 per share, with a total value of $988,480.00. Following the acquisition, the vice president owned 41,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,341,724.88. This trade represents a 10.57% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 29,855 shares of company stock valued at $8,916,928 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $365.00 to $366.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $275.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $361.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.64.

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.