Baillie Gifford & Co. Trims Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Baillie Gifford & Co. lessened its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,380,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 108,319 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $669,927,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 89.7% during the second quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter worth $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG opened at $292.72 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $288.47 and its 200-day moving average is $273.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $218.63 and a 12-month high of $301.04.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 19.12%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.11 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 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AJG shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a report on Friday, July 26th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $254.00 to $293.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $287.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the president now directly owns 33,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,853,685.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.68, for a total value of $1,992,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,625,146.84. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $9,853,685.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,900 shares of company stock worth $6,892,280 over the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is 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.