Metis Global Partners LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG

Metis Global Partners LLC lowered its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 2.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 349 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $3,981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp lifted its stake 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 worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Motco raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 700.0% during the 1st quarter. Motco now owns 112 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SouthState Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $249.75 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $289.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $307.23. The company has a market capitalization of $64.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.48 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.36. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $239.47 and a 1 year high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $3.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.34 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 14.54%.The business’s revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.26 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is 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%.

Insider Activity

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.54, for a total transaction of $2,396,320.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 100,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,186,742.58. This represents a 7.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Michael Robert Pesch acquired 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $247.12 per share, with a total value of $988,480.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 41,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,341,724.88. This trade represents a 10.57% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 29,855 shares of company stock valued at $8,916,928 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on AJG shares. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $275.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $353.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $340.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.73.

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.