AMG National Trust Bank Cuts Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

AMG National Trust Bank lessened its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 14.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,458 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 242 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $410,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,050,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,763,177,000 after purchasing an additional 727,325 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9.0% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,832,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,208,208,000 after buying an additional 398,350 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.7% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,640,938 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $425,511,000 after buying an additional 42,841 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,611,299 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $402,206,000 after buying an additional 38,886 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,410,349 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $365,718,000 after acquiring an additional 50,650 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $292.33 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $288.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $275.98. 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 capitalization of $64.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.68, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.72. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $218.63 and a one year high of $301.04.

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 for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 19.12% and a net margin of 10.40%. The business had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.00 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be given 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 0.82%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 45.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at $4,211,438. This represents a 16.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through 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 stock was sold at an average price of $296.20, for a total value of $2,103,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 33,267 shares in the company, valued at $9,853,685.40. This trade represents a 17.59 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 ninety days. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AJG has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $273.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $309.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $272.00 to $286.00 in a report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on 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. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $300.00 price objective on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $289.14.

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.