Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) Shares Acquired by Welch & Forbes LLC

Welch & Forbes LLC grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 301,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,478 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC owned about 0.14% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $67,718,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Greenleaf Trust grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.4% during the third quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 2,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $676,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 343 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 2,395 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $539,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.9% in the third quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 1,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $280,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.7% during the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock traded up $4.30 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $243.02. The company had a trading volume of 536,914 shares, compared to its average volume of 865,306. The company has a market capitalization of $53.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $243.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $239.15. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $198.52 and a 1 year high of $256.10.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $3.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.03 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 10.08 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 48.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Joel D. Cavaness sold 1,207 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.20, for a total value of $308,026.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $516,269.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director David S. Johnson sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.04, for a total transaction of $117,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 45,038 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,540,693.52. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Joel D. Cavaness sold 1,207 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.20, for a total value of $308,026.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,023 shares in the company, valued at $516,269.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,016 shares of company stock valued at $7,176,180. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on AJG shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $270.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $255.00 target price (down from $280.00) on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of 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. Jefferies Financial Group cut Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $279.00 to $233.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $255.31.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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.