Champlain Investment Partners LLC Decreases Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Champlain Investment Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 41.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 355,285 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 253,855 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $99,967,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 24.2% during the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 2,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $581,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 1st quarter worth about $231,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 19.0% in the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 59,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,984,000 after acquiring an additional 9,581 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 212.0% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 47,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,775,000 after acquiring an additional 31,997 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BOKF NA boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.4% in the first quarter. BOKF NA now owns 2,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $684,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG opened at $304.29 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $288.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $276.73. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $218.63 and a twelve month high of $308.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.76 billion, a PE ratio of 57.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.72.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 10.40%. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.00 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total transaction of $803,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,211,438. The trade was a 16.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total transaction of $2,103,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 33,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,853,685.40. The trade was a 17.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $6,892,280. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $254.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $241.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Bank Of America (Bofa) raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.71.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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.