Cynosure Group LLC Trims Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Cynosure Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 7.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 205 shares during the quarter. Cynosure Group LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $741,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 580.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 89.7% during the 2nd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 110 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

AJG stock opened at $313.13 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $68.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.64, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.72. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $289.03 and a 200-day moving average of $278.03. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $218.63 and a 12-month high of $314.44.

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, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.26. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 10.40%. The business’s revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.00 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 45.71%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,211,438. This represents a 16.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,625,146.84. This represents a 8.44 % decrease in their position. 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 three months. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. 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 research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $291.64.

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.