Trustmark National Bank Trust Department Boosts Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Trustmark National Bank Trust Department increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the quarter. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $968,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,640,938 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $425,511,000 after buying an additional 42,841 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.5% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,611,299 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $402,206,000 after acquiring an additional 38,886 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.7% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,410,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $365,718,000 after buying an additional 50,650 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 180.6% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,228,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $307,076,000 after buying an additional 790,467 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 219.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,043,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $270,660,000 after acquiring an additional 717,221 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.68, for a total value of $1,992,760.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,625,146.84. This trade represents a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 33,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,853,685.40. The trade was a 17.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $6,892,280 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $292.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.71.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $303.27 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $288.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $276.31. The company has a market cap of $66.54 billion, a PE ratio of 57.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $218.63 and a twelve month high of $303.67.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

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

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.