Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC Sells 3,675 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,675 shares during the quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $4,210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 180.6% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,228,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $307,076,000 after purchasing an additional 790,467 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,050,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,763,177,000 after buying an additional 727,325 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 219.6% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,043,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $270,660,000 after purchasing an additional 717,221 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 231.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 885,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $249,237,000 after acquiring an additional 618,362 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,832,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,208,208,000 after acquiring an additional 398,350 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $254.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $309.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.14.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

AJG stock opened at $295.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $288.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $274.11. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1-year low of $218.63 and a 1-year high of $301.04. The company has a market capitalization of $64.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.12, a PEG ratio of 2.54 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 (EPS) for the quarter, hitting 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.00 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid 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 0.81%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total transaction of $803,600.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at $4,211,438. This represents a 16.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $1,992,760.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,625,146.84. This trade represents a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $6,892,280 over the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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.