Cumberland Partners Ltd Decreases Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Cumberland Partners Ltd lowered its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 92,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 394 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. makes up 1.8% of Cumberland Partners Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Cumberland Partners Ltd’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $26,392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AJG. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 580.0% during the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $327.30 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $295.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $292.53. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $230.08 and a 52 week high of $329.60. The company has a market cap of $81.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.20 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 16.47%. Equities research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.81%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total value of $104,669.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 44,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,422,812.98. The trade was a 0.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total transaction of $877,569.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,440,499.14. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,725 shares of company stock valued at $4,972,964 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on AJG shares. TD Cowen raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $295.00 to $377.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $286.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.00.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co engages in the provision of insurance brokerage, reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party claims settlement and administration services. It operates through the following business segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.