Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. cut its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,871 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $11,887,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AJG. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $992,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.4% during the second quarter. Trueblood Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,409,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.7% during the first quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 983 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. ERn Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.9% in the first quarter. ERn Financial LLC now owns 2,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $636,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,331 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,642,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 6,335 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.06, for a total value of $1,799,520.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 30,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,536,855.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, General Counsel Walter D. Bay sold 6,335 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.06, for a total value of $1,799,520.10. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 30,053 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,536,855.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.96, for a total value of $4,244,400.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 329,099 shares in the company, valued at $93,121,853.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 44,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,622,660 over the last ninety days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

AJG opened at $276.06 on Monday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $218.63 and a 1 year high of $301.04. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $285.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $262.94. The firm has a market cap of $60.32 billion, a PE ratio of 55.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 19.25%. The business’s revenue was up 14.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.90 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $254.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $300.00 price target for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $282.93.

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.