Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Purchased by Ayrshire Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Ayrshire Capital increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 67.1% in Q4 to 24,421 shares (an additional 9,804 shares), worth $6.32 million and accounting for about 2.9% of Ayrshire's holdings; institutional investors now own roughly 85.53% of AJG.
• Insider sales: two vice presidents sold a combined 7,800 shares at roughly $227 each (totaling about $1.77 million), reducing their individual stakes by 4.24% and 17.16%, respectively.
• Dividend raised and recent results: AJG hiked its quarterly dividend to $0.70 (from $0.65), annualized $2.80 with a 1.3% yield, and recently reported EPS of $2.38 (slightly beating estimates) with revenue up 33.9% year-over-year; analysts hold a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average target of $273.94.

Ayrshire Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 67.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,421 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 9,804 shares during the period. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. comprises approximately 2.9% of Ayrshire Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Ayrshire Capital Management LLC's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $6,320,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 870.0% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 136 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 668.2% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.53% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

In other news, VP Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.57, for a total transaction of $864,766.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 85,920 shares in the company, valued at $19,552,814.40. The trade was a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.12, for a total transaction of $908,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 19,306 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,384,778.72. This trade represents a 17.16% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $220.98 on Thursday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $216.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $243.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.93, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 52-week low of $195.00 and a 52-week high of $351.23.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $2.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.57 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. had a return on equity of 12.13% and a net margin of 11.84%.Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s revenue was up 33.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. will post 13.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is 45.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on AJG. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $275.00 to $278.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $277.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Mizuho lowered their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $260.00 to $259.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $271.00 to $235.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $273.94.

About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co is a global insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Founded in 1927 by Arthur J. Gallagher, the company has grown from a regional broker into an international professional services organization that arranges insurance, provides consulting and designs risk-transfer solutions for commercial, industrial, public sector and individual clients.

The company's core activities include property and casualty insurance brokerage, employee benefits consulting and administration, and a range of risk management services.

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