Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Has $19.34 Million Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 23.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 68,124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,730 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $19,337,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AJG. Valley National Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC acquired a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 81.7% in the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 109 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 205.4% in the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AJG. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on 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. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $307.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $318.57.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 90,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,029,771.80. This represents a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Susan E. Pietrucha sold 13,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.13, for a total value of $4,645,755.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,941 shares in the company, valued at $4,109,256.33. The trade was a 53.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,510 shares of company stock valued at $11,033,341 over the last ninety days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $347.64 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.51. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $250.51 and a 52-week high of $350.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $332.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $315.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.32 and a beta of 0.78.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. The company had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.45 earnings per share. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 37.63%.

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.