Benjamin Edwards Inc. Has $1.80 Million Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 12.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,013 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,137 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $1,802,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 175.6% in the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 460.9% during the 4th quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 12,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.65, for a total transaction of $2,925,233.85. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 322,797 shares in the company, valued at $76,712,707.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Thomas Joseph Gallagher sold 12,309 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.65, for a total value of $2,925,233.85. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 322,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,712,707.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 500 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.04, for a total value of $117,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 45,038 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,540,693.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 29,016 shares of company stock worth $7,176,180. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $255.00 price objective (down from $280.00) on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $279.00 to $233.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $253.00 to $252.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $240.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $255.31.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG stock traded up $0.36 during trading on Thursday, reaching $239.16. 531,435 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 867,029. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $198.52 and a 1 year high of $256.10. The company has a market capitalization of $52.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.30, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $243.95 and its 200 day moving average is $239.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.08. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 10.27%. The business had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.03 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.08 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 48.58%.

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.