Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Decreases Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lessened its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 321,606 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,029 shares during the quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP owned 0.13% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $102,952,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Menard Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 3,812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,289,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.3% in the second quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $494,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,746 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $948,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,761,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Tritonpoint Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% in the second quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC now owns 3,222 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,032,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of AJG opened at $249.22 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $282.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $303.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company has a market capitalization of $64.00 billion, a PE ratio of 35.29 and a beta of 0.71. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $239.47 and a 52-week high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.19). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%.The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.26 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $275.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $361.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $353.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $316.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of the company’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 value 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 represents a 7.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 12,855 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.60, for a total value of $3,825,648.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at $25,569,792. This represents a 13.01% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 29,855 shares of company stock worth $8,916,928. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.