O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Raises Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 37,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,865 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $10,561,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 49 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 worth about $35,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $345.01 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $88.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.92 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $322.73 and its 200 day moving average is $301.35. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $230.08 and a one year high of $350.53.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. Sell-side 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.65 dividend. This is a positive change 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 0.75%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.88%.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total transaction of $104,669.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 44,783 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,422,812.98. This trade represents a 0.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director now directly 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 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on AJG. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price 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 Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $314.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial increased their price objective on 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. Finally, Piper Sandler raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $313.20.

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