Alyeska Investment Group L.P. Buys 330,000 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 356.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 422,472 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 330,000 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. owned 0.17% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $119,919,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,672,134 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,422,435,000 after purchasing an additional 3,851,661 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 10,067,647 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,857,737,000 after buying an additional 305,876 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,199,413 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,327,403,000 after acquiring an additional 1,910,471 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,277,993 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,779,248,000 after acquiring an additional 787,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,421,591,000. Institutional investors own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Price Performance

Shares of AJG stock traded up $3.75 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $338.61. 1,402,114 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,304,721. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $242.58 and a 52 week high of $350.70. The stock has a market cap of $86.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.93 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The stock's 50-day moving average is $330.25 and its 200-day moving average is $308.88.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.57 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.85 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 16.47% and a net margin of 12.70%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.45 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.63%.

Insider Transactions at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. news, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total transaction of $3,229,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 69,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,536,304.26. The trade was a 12.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total value of $2,505,260.90. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 90,020 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,029,771.80. This represents a 7.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,835 shares of company stock valued at $5,839,830 over the last three months. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on AJG. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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 report on Thursday, April 10th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $307.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $315.33.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. 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 segments: Brokerage, Risk Management, and Corporate. The Brokerage segment consists of retail and wholesale insurance brokerage operations.