Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Sold by Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. cut its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 1.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 48,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 674 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $12,155,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS Group AG lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 361,441 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $81,281,000 after purchasing an additional 28,359 shares during the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 70.4% during the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 12,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,213,000 after purchasing an additional 5,308 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 112,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,206,000 after purchasing an additional 15,528 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth about $979,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

AJG opened at $261.93 on Wednesday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $212.39 and a twelve month high of $266.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $57.23 billion, a PE ratio of 53.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.72. The business’s 50 day moving average is $251.52 and its 200-day moving average is $242.76.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.08. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 18.94%. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AJG. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $282.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $240.00 target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $274.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Argus raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $263.00.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.45, for a total transaction of $2,634,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 93,730 shares in the company, valued at $24,693,168.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 8,303 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.74, for a total value of $2,181,530.22. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 36,388 shares in the company, valued at $9,560,583.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 10,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.45, for a total transaction of $2,634,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 93,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,693,168.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 53,165 shares of company stock worth $13,629,049 over the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.