Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Purchased by Segment Wealth Management LLC

Segment Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 43,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 659 shares during the quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $12,382,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 219.6% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,043,769 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $270,660,000 after purchasing an additional 717,221 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 231.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 885,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $249,237,000 after acquiring an additional 618,362 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,305,478 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,462,392,000 after acquiring an additional 580,134 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 6,581.9% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 437,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $124,174,000 after acquiring an additional 430,917 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 13.6% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,196,992 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $899,538,000 after purchasing an additional 383,130 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock opened at $295.22 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $291.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $287.02. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12-month low of $227.08 and a 12-month high of $316.72. The stock has a market cap of $73.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.23 and a beta of 0.76.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $2.26 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.26. The firm had revenue of $2.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.78 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 19.12%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.00 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.70, for a total value of $1,992,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,626,666.10. The trade was a 8.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $287.00, for a total value of $803,600.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,211,438. This trade represents a 16.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on AJG. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $312.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $269.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $315.00 to $344.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $293.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.07.

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.