South Street Advisors LLC Sells 2,172 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

South Street Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 44,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,172 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. accounts for about 1.9% of South Street Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. South Street Advisors LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $12,457,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AJG. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 180.6% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,228,266 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $307,076,000 after acquiring an additional 790,467 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 7.0% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,050,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,763,177,000 after buying an additional 727,325 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 219.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,043,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $270,660,000 after buying an additional 717,221 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 231.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 885,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $249,237,000 after buying an additional 618,362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 9.0% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,832,060 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,208,208,000 after buying an additional 398,350 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

AJG stock traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $294.58. The stock had a trading volume of 948,405 shares, compared to its average volume of 846,019. The stock has a market cap of $64.63 billion, a PE ratio of 56.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.72. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $288.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $274.68. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $218.63 and a 52-week high of $301.04.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.00 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.11 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 45.71%.

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

In related news, President Michael Robert Pesch sold 7,100 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 33,267 shares in the company, valued at $9,853,685.40. The trade was a 17.59 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total value of $803,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,211,438. This represents a 16.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 23,900 shares of company stock worth $6,892,280. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Bank Of America (Bofa) increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $309.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays began coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $300.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective 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, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $254.00 to $293.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.14.

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.