Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Trims Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lessened its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 69,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,749 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $21,429,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AJG. J.Safra Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 209.1% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% during the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Steph & Co. purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 40.6% in the third quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Michael Robert Pesch purchased 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $247.12 per share, with a total value of $988,480.00. Following the purchase, the vice president directly owned 41,849 shares in the company, valued at $10,341,724.88. This trade represents a 10.57% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.05, for a total transaction of $1,290,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 95,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,715,254.85. This trade represents a 4.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 32,100 shares of company stock valued at $8,243,865 over the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $250.21 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $236.34 and a fifty-two week high of $351.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $253.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $279.37. The company has a market cap of $64.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.40 and a beta of 0.67.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.19). Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 13.58% and a return on equity of 11.98%. The firm had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.26 EPS. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 38.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AJG has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho set a $277.00 price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $353.00 to $334.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Needham & Company LLC set a $272.00 target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $292.00 price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $290.50.

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.