Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Sells 400 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. reduced its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,067 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 400 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $7,886,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 175.6% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the third quarter worth 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Joel D. Cavaness sold 1,207 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.20, for a total transaction of $308,026.40. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $516,269.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Joel D. Cavaness sold 1,207 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.20, for a total transaction of $308,026.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,023 shares in the company, valued at $516,269.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.06, for a total value of $3,825,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 96,709 shares in the company, valued at $24,666,597.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,016 shares of company stock worth $7,176,180 over the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AJG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $255.00 price target (down previously from $280.00) on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $279.00 to $233.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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 target price 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. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $255.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

AJG traded down $2.89 during trading on Friday, hitting $234.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,404,182 shares, compared to its average volume of 873,834. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $198.52 and a one year high of $256.10. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $244.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $238.93. The firm has a market cap of $51.10 billion, a PE ratio of 52.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.05%.

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.