Bellwether Advisors LLC Invests $2.24 Million in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,895 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,241,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AJG. Allred Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Allred Capital Management LLC now owns 3,380 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $960,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,380 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $959,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust raised its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,310 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $940,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 1,173 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brendel Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Brendel Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,237 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,054,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Piper Sandler upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $370.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Redburn Atlantic started coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $315.33.

Insider Activity

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 2,900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.61, for a total transaction of $877,569.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,440,499.14. This represents a 16.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total value of $104,669.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 44,783 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,422,812.98. This represents a 0.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,235 shares of company stock valued at $7,478,224 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of AJG traded up $13.78 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $331.42. 1,818,548 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,296,759. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.83 and a beta of 0.64. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $235.09 and a fifty-two week high of $350.70. The business's 50 day moving average is $330.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $308.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.10. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. The business had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.45 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.88%.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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