Sanctuary Advisors LLC Purchases 1,361 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,361 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $16,293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth $103,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 126.2% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,003,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $568,619,000 after buying an additional 1,117,441 shares during the last quarter. Csenge Advisory Group increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 2,714 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $770,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,710 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,089,000 after buying an additional 763 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 29.5% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 11,317 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,212,000 after acquiring an additional 2,576 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $321.59 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $80.33 billion, a PE ratio of 49.32 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.51. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $293.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $292.01. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $230.08 and a 1 year high of $329.60.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. On average, research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 36.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AJG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $300.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. TD Cowen raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $295.00 to $377.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $344.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total transaction of $877,569.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at $4,440,499.14. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.33, for a total value of $760,825.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,031,487.89. The trade was a 13.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,725 shares of company stock worth $4,972,964 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.