Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Sold by Bahl & Gaynor Inc.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. decreased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 35,067 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $7,886,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AJG. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 175.6% during the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the third quarter worth $28,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 460.9% in the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the third quarter worth approximately $45,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded down $2.89 during trading on Friday, hitting $234.06. 1,404,182 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 873,834. The stock has a market cap of $51.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.72, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $244.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $238.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $198.52 and a twelve month high of $256.10.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.40 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 9.63% and a return on equity of 18.49%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.54 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 54.05%.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, Director David S. Johnson sold 500 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.04, for a total transaction of $117,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 45,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,540,693.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director David S. Johnson sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.04, for a total value of $117,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 45,038 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,540,693.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.06, for a total value of $3,825,900.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 96,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,666,597.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 29,016 shares of company stock worth $7,176,180. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AJG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $240.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $279.00 to $233.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $255.00 target price (down from $280.00) on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $255.23.

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.