Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 15.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 879,253 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 164,516 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $247,395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AJG. BOKF NA boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.4% during the first quarter. BOKF NA now owns 2,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $684,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter worth $588,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 16.6% during the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 12,437 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,835,000 after acquiring an additional 1,773 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 341,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $85,368,000 after purchasing an additional 2,527 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth about $27,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.7 %

AJG stock opened at $306.45 on Tuesday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $218.63 and a one year high of $308.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company has a fifty day moving average of $288.69 and a 200-day moving average of $277.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.24 billion, a PE ratio of 58.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.72.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 10.40%. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.12 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total value of $2,103,020.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 33,267 shares in the company, valued at $9,853,685.40. The trade was a 17.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total transaction of $803,600.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,211,438. The trade was a 16.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 23,900 shares of company stock worth $6,892,280. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AJG shares. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. 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 report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $291.64.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.