Talbot Financial LLC Trims Stock Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Talbot Financial LLC lowered its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 33,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 195 shares during the period. Talbot Financial LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $9,569,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG traded up $1.10 during trading on Monday, hitting $288.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 756,561 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,340,298. The company has a 50-day moving average of $291.69 and a 200-day moving average of $285.94. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $227.08 and a 12 month high of $316.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $71.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.76.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.78 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 19.12%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.00 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 45.71%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.70, for a total value of $1,992,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,626,666.10. This trade represents a 8.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were 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 directly owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,211,438. This trade represents a 16.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AJG shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $304.07.

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.