Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Buys 8,959 Shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 28.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,963 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,959 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $11,343,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allred Capital Management LLC boosted its position in 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 valued at $960,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 3,380 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $959,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 3,310 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $940,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its position in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 1,173 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Brendel Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in 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 valued at $2,054,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 7,510 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.59, for a total transaction of $2,505,260.90. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 90,020 shares in the company, valued at $30,029,771.80. This represents a 7.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Trading Up 1.1%

AJG stock traded up $3.84 during trading on Friday, reaching $342.12. The company had a trading volume of 973,172 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,313,442. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52 week low of $244.60 and a 52 week high of $350.70. The company has a market cap of $87.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.47 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50 day moving average of $330.48 and a 200 day moving average of $311.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.51.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.85 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a net margin of 12.70% and a return on equity of 16.47%. The business's revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.45 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 11.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AJG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $266.00 to $265.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $352.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $307.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $275.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $318.57.

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.