Choate Investment Advisors Acquires 920 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Choate Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 62.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,396 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 920 shares during the quarter. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $680,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 67,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,893,000 after purchasing an additional 11,752 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 period. Running Oak Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 48,722 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,830,000 after buying an additional 3,983 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.2% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 183,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,732,000 after acquiring an additional 2,092 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 22,436 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,381,000 after acquiring an additional 3,217 shares in the last quarter. 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 $325.35 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $312.16 and its 200 day moving average is $298.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $230.08 and a 52 week high of $345.43. The stock has a market cap of $82.87 billion, a PE ratio of 49.90 and a beta of 0.75.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. Research analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total transaction of $877,569.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at $4,440,499.14. The trade was a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,031,487.89. This trade represents a 13.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,725 shares of company stock valued at $4,972,964 over the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on AJG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $295.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $313.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Piper Sandler upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Cowen raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $295.00 to $377.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $344.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two investment 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.93.

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.