North Star Investment Management Corp. Trims Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

North Star Investment Management Corp. lowered its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 2.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,479 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 700 shares during the period. North Star Investment Management Corp.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $9,138,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. W Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.4% in the third quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 1,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $426,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.8% in the third quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 4,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,289,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Covenant Partners LLC increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% in the third quarter. Covenant Partners LLC now owns 5,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,499,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $992,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 8,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,472,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

NYSE AJG traded up $0.23 on Tuesday, reaching $281.88. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 119,600 shares, compared to its average volume of 841,912. The stock has a market cap of $61.84 billion, a PE ratio of 53.62, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $218.63 and a twelve month high of $301.04. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $288.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $271.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.71%.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, President Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.96, for a total value of $4,244,400.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 329,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $93,121,853.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total transaction of $2,103,020.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 33,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,853,685.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, President Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.96, for a total value of $4,244,400.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 329,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $93,121,853.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,900 shares of company stock valued at $11,136,680 over the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AJG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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. Barclays initiated coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $300.00 price objective for the company. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $287.00.

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.