HBK Sorce Advisory LLC Increases Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $333,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AJG. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% in the third quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. 85.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AJG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $295.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $344.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, November 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.93.

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

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total transaction of $3,229,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 69,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,536,304.26. The trade was a 12.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. 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.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $325.35 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $230.08 and a twelve month high of $345.43. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $312.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $298.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.90 and a beta of 0.75.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 39.88%.

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.