Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Raises Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 47.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 35,947 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,587 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $10,262,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Catalina Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $959,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. W Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. W Advisors LLC now owns 1,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $426,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $940,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Covenant Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Covenant Partners LLC now owns 5,326 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,499,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Disciplined Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Disciplined Investments LLC now owns 5,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,635,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. 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 the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.33, for a total value of $760,825.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AJG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. 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, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $286.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $307.00.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 1.1 %

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $319.76 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a twelve month low of $230.08 and a twelve month high of $320.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $291.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $289.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.04 and a beta of 0.77.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 36.81%.

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