Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. $AJG Shares Purchased by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank raised its stake in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG) by 27.3% in Q4, buying 22,659 shares to own 105,558 shares worth about $27.32 million.
• Two company VPs sold stock in early March — Scott R. Hudson sold 3,800 shares for $864,766 and Christopher E. Mead sold 4,000 shares for $908,480 — with company insiders now holding 1.40% of the stock.
• Analyst coverage is mixed but generally favorable: MarketBeat reports a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $273.94.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE:AJG - Free Report) by 27.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 105,558 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 22,659 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. were worth $27,317,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 870.0% during the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 97 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 650.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 105 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised 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 worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its position in shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. by 668.2% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. 85.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

AJG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $249.00 to $246.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from $283.00 to $280.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Truist Financial lowered 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 report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $275.00 to $278.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $273.94.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AJG opened at $224.59 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $216.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $243.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $57.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.52, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 0.68. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has a 1 year low of $195.00 and a 1 year high of $351.23.

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

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This is an increase from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is 45.53%.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Company Profile

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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