Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC Has $1.91 Million Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC trimmed its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 21.4% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,501 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. comprises 1.2% of Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Eagle Wealth Strategies LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $1,905,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,672,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,422,435,000 after purchasing an additional 3,851,661 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 10,067,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,857,737,000 after purchasing an additional 305,876 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,199,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,327,403,000 after acquiring an additional 1,910,471 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,277,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,779,248,000 after acquiring an additional 787,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth $1,421,591,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG stock opened at $328.90 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $332.45 and its 200-day moving average is $316.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.23 billion, a PE ratio of 50.44 and a beta of 0.74. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $251.42 and a 52 week high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.85 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.45 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 37.63%.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.17, for a total value of $3,540,285.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 91,175 shares in the company, valued at $30,741,474.75. This trade represents a 10.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.04, for a total value of $342,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 45,323 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,502,278.92. This represents a 2.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,510 shares of company stock worth $11,033,341 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Barclays increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $319.36.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co engages in the provision of insurance brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party claims settlement and administration services. It operates through the following segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.