Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Stock Position Lowered by Strategy Asset Managers LLC

Strategy Asset Managers LLC trimmed its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 30,302 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 370 shares during the quarter. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. accounts for 1.7% of Strategy Asset Managers LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Strategy Asset Managers LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $8,601,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised 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 buying an additional 3,851,661 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,932,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,513,199,000 after purchasing an additional 47,656 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,490,728 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,541,044,000 after purchasing an additional 79,429 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,421,591,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,029,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $576,004,000 after buying an additional 184,960 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total transaction of $104,669.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 44,783 shares in the company, valued at $14,422,812.98. The trade was a 0.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sherry S. Barrat sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $304.33, for a total transaction of $760,825.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,031,487.89. This represents a 13.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,235 shares of company stock valued at $7,478,224. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of AJG stock opened at $340.59 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $230.08 and a 12 month high of $345.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market cap of $87.10 billion, a PE ratio of 52.24 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $321.73 and a 200-day moving average of $300.95.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.76%. This is an increase 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AJG. 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 target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Redburn Atlantic assumed coverage on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $352.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of 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, TD Cowen raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $295.00 to $377.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company 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.