Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Cuts Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. decreased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 30.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,032 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,626 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $1,697,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.1% during the third quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 9,710 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,128 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.2% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 38,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,747,000 after acquiring an additional 1,188 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 43,224 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,162,000 after purchasing an additional 4,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 3rd quarter worth about $437,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AJG. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $254.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $291.64.

Insider Activity

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, 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 value of $1,992,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,625,146.84. This represents a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total value of $2,103,020.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 33,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,853,685.40. This trade represents a 17.59 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,900 shares of company stock valued at $6,892,280. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE:AJG opened at $312.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company has a market capitalization of $68.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $218.63 and a one year high of $316.72. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $290.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $278.98.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.26. The company had revenue of $2.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the firm earned $2.00 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

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

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.