Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Sells 1,300 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 48,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $12,180,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,050,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,763,177,000 after purchasing an additional 727,325 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth $1,308,316,000. Capital World Investors increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9.0% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,832,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,208,208,000 after acquiring an additional 398,350 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% in the first quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,624,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $656,217,000 after acquiring an additional 14,366 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,567,867 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $392,029,000 after acquiring an additional 79,271 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

AJG opened at $283.58 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $61.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $261.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $248.74. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $214.13 and a 1 year high of $283.90.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.02. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The business had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AJG shares. Bank Of America (Bofa) increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $233.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $282.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $273.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David S. Johnson sold 850 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.84, for a total value of $219,164.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 45,108 shares in the company, valued at $11,630,646.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director David S. Johnson sold 850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.84, for a total value of $219,164.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 45,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,630,646.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.41, for a total value of $3,974,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,109,286.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 53,165 shares of company stock valued at $13,629,049. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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.