Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Sold by GW Henssler & Associates Ltd.

GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. decreased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 6.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 48 shares during the period. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $216,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,411,264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,499,185,000 after acquiring an additional 739,130 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 38.3% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,372,745 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,997,767,000 after acquiring an additional 4,815,007 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,959,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,021,798,000 after acquiring an additional 137,354 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,364,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $816,409,000 after acquiring an additional 9,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,336,591 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $796,217,000 after acquiring an additional 7,594 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total value of $2,396,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 100,777 shares in the company, valued at $30,186,742.58. The trade was a 7.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total value of $3,825,648.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 85,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,569,792. This trade represents a 13.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,855 shares of company stock valued at $8,916,928. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $301.75 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $275.56 and a twelve month high of $351.23. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $299.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $315.45. The firm has a market cap of $77.37 billion, a PE ratio of 42.86 and a beta of 0.73.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.36 by ($0.03). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The business had revenue of $3.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 36.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AJG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $288.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $322.00 to $329.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $331.43.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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.