Appleton Partners Inc. MA Sells 180 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA reduced its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 48,344 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 180 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. makes up 1.0% of Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $13,722,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AJG. FMR LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,305,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,462,392,000 after acquiring an additional 580,134 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,932,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,513,199,000 after purchasing an additional 47,656 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,490,728 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,541,044,000 after buying an additional 79,429 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,196,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $899,538,000 after buying an additional 383,130 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,330,703 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $374,408,000 after buying an additional 31,181 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $322.42 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.54 billion, a PE ratio of 49.45 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $291.82 and its 200-day moving average is $289.91. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $230.08 and a 1 year high of $323.55.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 16.47%. Equities analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.53 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.81%.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total transaction of $877,569.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at $4,440,499.14. The trade was a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.33, for a total value of $760,825.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,031,487.89. The trade was a 13.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on AJG. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $344.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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 business segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.