Commerce Bank Increases Stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Commerce Bank increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 8.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,199 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,009 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $5,667,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AJG. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 175.6% during the third quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the third quarter valued at $28,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 460.9% during 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. bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the third quarter valued at about $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company’s stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:AJG opened at $252.06 on Friday. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $198.52 and a 52-week high of $259.35. The stock has a market cap of $55.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.02, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $244.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $240.80.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is 48.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $255.00 price objective (down previously from $280.00) on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $253.00 to $252.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $233.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $255.71.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,395 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.00, for a total value of $862,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 38,314 shares in the company, valued at $9,731,756. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 3,395 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.00, for a total transaction of $862,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 38,314 shares in the company, valued at $9,731,756. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 850 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.84, for a total value of $219,164.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 45,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,630,646.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 51,069 shares of company stock worth $12,946,945 over the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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.