Balyasny Asset Management L.P. Boosts Position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 53,148.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,319,505 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,317,027 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. comprises approximately 0.6% of Balyasny Asset Management L.P.'s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned 0.53% of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. worth $374,541,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AJG. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.9% in the fourth 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 holdings in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 10,067,647 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,857,737,000 after acquiring an additional 305,876 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,199,413 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,327,403,000 after purchasing an additional 1,910,471 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,277,993 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,779,248,000 after purchasing an additional 787,265 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at $1,421,591,000. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE AJG traded up $1.34 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $339.61. 1,279,559 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,307,912. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.51. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $244.22 and a 52-week high of $350.70. The business's fifty day moving average price is $330.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $309.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.85 billion, a PE ratio of 52.09 and a beta of 0.78.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The financial services provider reported $3.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.57 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $3.69 billion for 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%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.45 EPS. Analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 EPS for the current year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AJG. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $307.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $308.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $315.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David S. Johnson sold 325 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.06, for a total value of $104,669.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 44,783 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,422,812.98. This trade represents a 0.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Richard C. Cary sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.99, for a total transaction of $3,229,900.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 69,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,536,304.26. This represents a 12.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,835 shares of company stock valued at $5,839,830 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

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.