Franklin Resources Inc. Has $120.50 Million Holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 15.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 535,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 73,076 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $120,502,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 175.6% in the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 460.9% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the third quarter worth about $45,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AJG has been the subject of several research reports. Argus raised their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $264.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $246.00 to $240.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $253.00 to $252.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $233.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $255.71.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $257.65 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $56.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.69. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 12 month low of $198.52 and a 12 month high of $259.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $244.64 and a 200-day moving average of $240.69.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 10.27% and a return on equity of 18.94%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.03 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.08 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 48.58%.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 16,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.41, for a total value of $3,974,560.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,109,286.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 15,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.06, for a total value of $3,825,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 96,709 shares in the company, valued at $24,666,597.54. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Douglas K. Howell sold 16,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.41, for a total value of $3,974,560.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 80,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,109,286.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 50,219 shares of company stock worth $12,727,781. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and reinsurance brokerage, consulting, and third-party property/casualty claims settlement and administration services to entities and individuals worldwide. It operates in Brokerage and Risk Management segments. The Brokerage segment offers retail and wholesale insurance and reinsurance brokerage services; assists retail brokers and other non-affiliated brokers in the placement of specialized and hard-to-place insurance; and acts as a brokerage wholesaler, managing general agent, and managing general underwriter for distributing specialized insurance coverages to underwriting enterprises.