Otter Creek Advisors LLC Sells 1,300 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Otter Creek Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. makes up 3.1% of Otter Creek Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Otter Creek Advisors LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $4,840,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth $252,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 24.2% during the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 2,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $581,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth $231,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,350,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.0% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 59,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,984,000 after purchasing an additional 9,581 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.68, for a total transaction of $1,992,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares in the company, valued at $21,625,146.84. The trade was a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total value of $2,103,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 33,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,853,685.40. The trade was a 17.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 23,900 shares of company stock worth $6,892,280. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG opened at $303.27 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $66.54 billion, a PE ratio of 57.77, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $288.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $276.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $218.63 and a 1 year high of $303.67.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.26. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 10.40%. The business’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.00 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.11 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 45.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $292.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.71.

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.