Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE Lowers Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE decreased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 32,520 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 158 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. accounts for about 1.8% of Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $10,410,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 209.1% in the second quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Centennial Bank AR purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total transaction of $2,396,320.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 100,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,186,742.58. This trade represents a 7.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $3,825,648.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 85,920 shares in the company, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,855 shares of company stock worth $8,916,928. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 5.4%

AJG stock opened at $280.09 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $299.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $314.50. The stock has a market cap of $71.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.79 and a beta of 0.73.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by ($0.03). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%.The company had revenue of $3.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $365.00 to $366.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $352.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $288.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus 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.