Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Stock Position Reduced by Cumberland Partners Ltd

Cumberland Partners Ltd cut its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 95,998 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,600 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. makes up about 1.9% of Cumberland Partners Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Cumberland Partners Ltd’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $21,869,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,664,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,202,742,000 after acquiring an additional 726,485 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.6% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,209,557 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,415,345,000 after acquiring an additional 34,999 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,000,975 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,139,872,000 after buying an additional 90,842 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,610,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $583,249,000 after buying an additional 13,208 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,572,182 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $586,277,000 after buying an additional 88,861 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AJG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $255.00 price objective (down from $280.00) on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $279.00 to $233.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $240.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $255.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG traded up $0.36 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $237.88. 620,847 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 869,393. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $244.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $238.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.93 billion, a PE ratio of 53.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.68. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $198.52 and a 12 month high of $256.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The financial services provider reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.40 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 9.63% and a return on equity of 18.49%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.54 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David S. Johnson sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.04, for a total transaction of $117,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 45,038 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,540,693.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 shares were sold at an average price of $237.65, for a total value of $2,925,233.85. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 322,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,712,707.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.04, for a total transaction of $117,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 45,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,540,693.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,016 shares of company stock worth $7,176,180 in the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.