Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Acquired by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,043 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,040 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $9,379,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total transaction of $877,569.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at $4,440,499.14. This trade represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 sale, the director now directly 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,725 shares of company stock worth $4,972,964. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

NYSE:AJG opened at $326.50 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $83.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.08 and a beta of 0.75. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $230.08 and a 12-month high of $345.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company’s 50-day moving average is $315.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $298.94.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on AJG. Truist Financial increased 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 boosted 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 research 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 on the stock. in a report on Monday, November 25th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $344.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $307.93.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Profile

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.