Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators Reduces Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators trimmed its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 14.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 49 shares during the quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators’ holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $83,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total value of $2,103,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 33,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,853,685.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,853,685.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was 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 directly owns 75,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,625,146.84. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $6,892,280 in the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AJG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. 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, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada increased 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $241.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $287.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE:AJG opened at $290.56 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $288.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $272.10. The company has a market capitalization of $63.75 billion, a PE ratio of 55.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 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 52-week low of $218.63 and a 52-week high of $301.04.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.71%.

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.