National Pension Service Sells 4,249 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

National Pension Service reduced its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 445,721 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,249 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $126,518,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AJG. Valley National Advisers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 543.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 103 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 580.0% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AJG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $286.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $344.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” 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 issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $307.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total value of $3,229,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 69,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,536,304.26. This represents a 12.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total value of $104,669.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 44,783 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,422,812.98. This trade represents a 0.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,725 shares of company stock valued at $4,972,964 in the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of AJG opened at $327.70 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.26 and a beta of 0.77. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $300.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $294.40. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $230.08 and a 52 week high of $333.03.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 39.88%.

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