M&T Bank Corp Cuts Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

M&T Bank Corp cut its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG – Get Rating) by 6.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,097 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,740 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $9,091,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Profund Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 2,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $398,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Tsfg LLC boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 48.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 2,077 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 4,275 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $792,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. 82.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Down 3.4 %

AJG opened at $177.09 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $190.97 and its 200-day moving average is $187.21. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $148.24 and a 52-week high of $202.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.96 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 13.08% and a return on equity of 18.64%. The business’s revenue was up 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 8.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 2nd. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 42.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.62, for a total value of $189,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 46,508 shares in the company, valued at $8,818,846.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 18,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.66, for a total transaction of $3,565,342.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 42,231 shares in the company, valued at $8,051,762.46. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.62, for a total transaction of $189,620.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 46,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,818,846.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 24,933 shares of company stock worth $4,747,098. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AJG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $195.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $215.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $215.00 to $204.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 22nd. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Thursday, January 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $211.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $211.86.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

(Get Rating)

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co engages in the provision of insurance 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.