Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Sold by Occidental Asset Management LLC

Occidental Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 52 shares during the period. Occidental Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $828,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empirical Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth $202,000. Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 1,194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,375,000 after buying an additional 692 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 31.5% during the fourth quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 7,860 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,231,000 after acquiring an additional 1,882 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 58.3% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 543 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $154,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE AJG opened at $295.65 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $291.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $286.36. The stock has a market cap of $73.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.31 and a beta of 0.76. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $227.08 and a twelve month high of $316.72. 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 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. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 10.40%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.00 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.06 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.70, for a total transaction of $1,992,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,626,666.10. This trade represents a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total value of $803,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,211,438. The trade was a 16.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AJG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $292.00 to $286.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $304.07.

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.