Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Lowers Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA decreased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,933,988 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 263,004 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 1.17% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $832,812,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% during the 4th 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 during the period. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG opened at $343.70 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.71 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a one year low of $230.08 and a one year high of $355.16. The business has a fifty day moving average of $323.67 and a 200 day moving average of $301.67.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.88%.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In related news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total value of $877,569.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,440,499.14. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 69,774 shares in the company, valued at $22,536,304.26. This represents a 12.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,235 shares of company stock worth $7,478,224 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AJG has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 price target on the stock. Two investment 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.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $313.20.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company 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.