Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Buys 5,878 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 127,661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,878 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $39,542,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 25.9% during the 2nd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 91,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,432,000 after acquiring an additional 18,937 shares in the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.9% during the second quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 2,597 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $826,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2,685.7% in the 2nd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 8,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,863,000 after buying an additional 8,621 shares in the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 47,638 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $15,250,000 after buying an additional 3,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 210.1% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 368,437 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $117,944,000 after acquiring an additional 249,616 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG stock opened at $258.32 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.61 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $236.34 and a twelve month high of $351.23. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $253.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $280.87.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.19). The business had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.34 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 11.98% and a net margin of 13.58%.The firm’s revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.26 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AJG shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $292.00 price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $344.00 to $282.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Wolfe Research set a $289.00 price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $353.00 to $334.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $290.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 15,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total value of $4,041,750.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 79,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,284,995. This trade represents a 16.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.05, for a total transaction of $1,290,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 95,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,715,254.85. This trade represents a 4.96% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 32,100 shares of company stock worth $8,243,865. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.

The company’s core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.