Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Sold by Westfield Capital Management Co. LP

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP trimmed its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 10.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 229,225 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 27,014 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $64,497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 89.7% during the 2nd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.70, for a total value of $1,992,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,626,666.10. This trade represents a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total value of $803,600.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,211,438. This trade represents a 16.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $6,892,280. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.6 %

AJG stock opened at $304.29 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $288.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $277.18. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $66.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.96, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $218.63 and a one year high of $308.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced 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 return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 10.40%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.00 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.12 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 0.79%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 45.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AJG shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. 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 report on Tuesday, November 12th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $254.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $309.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on 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, seven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.71.

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.