B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Has $4.82 Million Stock Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG reduced its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 121 shares during the quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $4,823,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,421,591,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,672,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,422,435,000 after acquiring an additional 3,851,661 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 162.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,822,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $801,115,000 after acquiring an additional 1,745,283 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 126.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,117,441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 282.4% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 938,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $266,368,000 after purchasing an additional 693,006 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $345.01 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $88.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.92 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $322.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $301.35. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $230.08 and a 12-month high of $350.53. 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. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 presently 39.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AJG shares. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $314.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $341.00 to $370.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $313.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the 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 approximately $4,440,499.14. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total transaction of $2,505,260.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 90,020 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,029,771.80. This represents a 7.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,235 shares of company stock valued at $7,478,224 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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 segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.